


Snowy Mountains and Ocean Roses

by Ventadour



Series: From A Gentler Beginning [1]
Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Romance, Setting Expansion, Vampires, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:15:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 81,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27277111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ventadour/pseuds/Ventadour
Summary: A chain of misery and misfortune brought them together. Without that, what are they to each other? In a time absent the awakening of the Kuran Ancestor, bereft of the deaths of the Kuran and Kiryu, the world spins on from a gentler beginning. But even from a gentler beginning, elements of vampiric society and the hunter’s association have no desire to see forward progress between the species...As the heiress of the Kuran family, Yuuki Kuran has endorsed the soon-to-be-reopened Cross Academy for her adoptive uncle. Bearing aloft his dream of a world where vampires and humans can coexist in the open, she steps out into a more cynical world than she imagined. She is joined by her childhood friend Zero Kiryu, the favored son of the famous Kiryu vampire hunters, who was raised alongside an infirm and unheard-of twin to safeguard humans against vampiric predation.
Relationships: Cross Yuuki/Kiryuu Zero
Series: From A Gentler Beginning [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998787
Comments: 21
Kudos: 22





	1. Declaration

**Author's Note:**

> **Content warnings** , where relevant, will be present in the opening notes of each chapter.

* * *

“Are you quite certain about this, Uncle?” Kaname asked. He stood across the parlor, his eyes fixed on the window. He was short for his age, only a little taller than his sister, and dressed in a tan suit. His dark brown hair was worn similar to that of the man he called his uncle: Grown out and drawn into a loose ponytail, with his bangs framing his face. He added, “It won’t make you very popular, you know.”

Kaien looped his arm around Kaname’s shoulders – unexpectedly, judging by the look of surprise that flashed across Kaname’s features – and guided him across the room, replying as he went, “My dear nephew is so concerned for his uncle! No need to brood in a corner and worry on my account. Of course, if you really wanted to see to the safety of my school--”

“It’s not your school I’m worried about,” Kaname interrupted, his features flat and guarded.

“-- then you could always join darling Yuuki as a prefect!” Kaien carried on, ushering Kaname into the seat he had been occupying a moment ago.

“I must decline,” Kaname said.

“All of our friends are going to be attending,” Yuuki pointed out. She sat next to Kaname, having moments ago been immersed in conversation with Kaien. For this occasion she wore her long, brown hair in twin buns, and a light lavender gown accompanied by a matching corsage.

Kaname rested his hand against his face and surveyed Yuuki with muted amusement. He replied, “Purebloods are like flames to which the masses are drawn. Our friends gather around you, dear sister, because it is your will that they do so. Whether you command them or no, they act for your sake. I don’t disapprove of your decision to take part in Uncle’s dream of a gentler world, but my presence adds nothing to yours. I would spend my time elsewhere.”

“You don’t have to be so cold about it,” Yuuki complained.

“If I wasn’t, we would surely burn up in your radiance,” Kaname answered.

Kaien laughed, a little too enthusiastically to be altogether believable. His attention turned briefly towards a clock resting on an end table, and gave a sudden start. “We’re late! Yuuki, come on--” He pulled Yuuki hastily to her feet and headed towards the double doors that would lead into the ballroom. He took one glance back at Kaname, “-- and Kaname… give it some more thought! But there’s no need to come to Cross Academy if you don’t want to.”

Kaname issued a small, affirmative noise and watched them leave.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

“Zero.”

The sound of his teacher’s voice called Zero Kiryu out of his concentration. They stood at the edge of the ballroom, situated at the heart of the soirée, so that they could sense anything untoward transpiring no matter where in the surroundings it might occur. He had been focusing his attention on the aural silhouettes of vampires moving about, the occasional faint pulse of another hunter just barely standing out from the crowd. Despite that, he wasn’t as zoned out as he appeared to be.

“Teacher?”

Toga Yagari hadn’t troubled to dress for the occasion. His wide-brimmed hat sat low on his head, and a quarter-finished cigarette was held loosely between his lips. He asked, “Why do you think vampires host parties like this one?”

A contrast to his teacher, Zero was dressed to the minimum standard of what fit in at such parties, in a black suit and waistcoat with a red tie. He swept his gaze across the ballroom. It wasn’t his first soirée on security detail, and already the locations had begun to blur together. Rich wooden floors made warm and colorful with elaborately decorative rugs, grand staircases leading up the middle of the chamber, a surrounding loft with access to external balconies. Thick, heavy curtains, and finely carved furniture with deceptively comfortable upholstery. The center of the room was dominated by a dance floor, cleared of all obstructions, illuminated by a grand chandelier. Dancers glided across the floor, an intermingling of power struggle and attraction blending together with business-as-art.

Traditionally, the hosts would arrive from the upper floor, introducing themselves as they descended, while welcoming their guests. Juri and Haruka Kuran had already made their entrance and joined their guests, but their children appeared to be waiting to be fashionably late.

“Are you asking about ‘vampires’, or the Kuran?” Zero asked.

“So you think there’s a difference?” Toga replied, exhaling a wisp of smoke. His lips curled faintly at the corners.

“Yes. But it isn’t a matter of sympathy, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Then what is it?”

Zero cast an irritable look towards Toga, but continued, “The Kuran have no need to show off. Their strength is self-evident, even to the Vampire Council. The only people who have the strength to challenge the Kuran are the Kuran. Since there is no reason for them to posture for themselves, they must be posturing for someone or something else.”

Toga said nothing, an amused exhalation producing twin trails of smoke.

The double-doors at the top of the stairs opened, abruptly.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Kaien Cross and Yuuki Kuran emerged from the upstairs parlor, their arms laced loosely. There was a parental air to Kaien’s demeanor, like a stately father leading his daughter in to her first public event. A gentle murmur ran through the room-- it was long rumored that Kaien Cross, famous among vampire hunters, had some association with the Kuran family. For him to emerge during a Kuran-hosted event in such intimate contact with the family heiress, however, could be nothing but deliberately provocative.

“Hello, hello! I’m very sorry for denying you all my adorable niece’s company for so long. If you would be so kind as to give us your attention for a moment...” Kaien Cross needn’t have called for further attention. Already the room belonged to the pair, the murmur having fallen to attentive silence.

Clearing his throat, Kaien continued, “As you are all aware, I have retired from the profession of hunting in the interest of pursuing reconciliation between humans and vampires. In pursuit of that, I have partnered with the Kuran family to establish an academy in which human and vampires may be educated and raised in close contact. It is our hope, at Cross Academy, that one day the secrecy we now maintain may be lifted, and our two species may co-exist openly.”

Yuuki hesitated, allowing silence to linger just a little too long before she raised her voice to address the room, “… I’m happy to announce that I’ve decided to enroll at Cross Academy for its re-opening. If any of you are interested and have any questions, you’re welcome to come and talk to me about it.”

Kaien quickly drew attention away from Yuuki, urging her the rest of the way down the stairs, “Isn’t she so gracious? Thank you for your attention!”

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Zero watched the pair in bemusement. It was impossible for a hunter not to know Kaien Cross, but his relationship to the man was closer than that. Like a link in a chain binding together some of the most prominent lineages of each world, Cross had been like an uncle to him-- and the Kuran were the link on the opposite side of the Kiryu. The words processed separately from their descent, his eyes tracing the path of the Princess while his sixth sense swayed under the gravity of her presence. Officially they had no association with one another, though their childhood had intersected at the Cross household. As a child he thought little enough of Yuuki and her situation, but as they grew he couldn’t shake the impression that she was, in some way, deeply sad.

“Only the Princess supported him. The Prince is still absent,” he observed.

Toga made an affirmative noise.

“You knew about this,” he said, glancing at Toga inquisitively.

“Yeah,” Toga said, rifling around in his jacket and withdrawing a pair of envelopes, pressing one into Zero’s hands, “the Association was a part of the process. Hunter representatives have already been assigned for student safety.”

Zero took the letter and shook it open, his eyes flicking rapidly across the page.

* * *

_Junior Associate Kiryu,_  
 _Along with Second Officer Yagari, you have been selected to act as a representative of the Hunter’s Association at Cross Academy beginning on 1 September. You have been enrolled in the Academy as a student, where you will be serving as a prefect for Chairman Cross. Your duties will be elaborated upon by Chairman Cross shortly before the beginning of term, but chiefly concern securing the safety of the students against vampiric predation, and enforcing the rules of interaction between the Day (human) and Night (vampire) classes._  


_Your immediate counterpart among the vampires will be the heiress of the Kuran family._

_Assignment Officer Shepherd_  
_Hunter’s Association Headquarters_

* * *

A long, troubled sigh slipped between Zero’s lips as he folded the letter and put it away.

“What about Ichiru?” He asked.

“Ichiru is not suited to be a hunter. He would be a liability,” Toga said, his voice softening infinitesimally.

Zero made an aggravated noise and leaned heavily against the wall, folding his arms across his chest.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

“I look forward to seeing you there!” Yuuki exclaimed, waving at the departing young woman who had joined her in conversation about Cross Academy. Outwardly she was bright and sunny, and she was earnestly excited to contribute to the future success of her Uncle’s dream. But Kaname’s refusal to become involved hung over her like a gloomy cloud-- she could even imagine it, trailing overhead, flashes of lightning rippling through the clouds as she went. She trailed the upper floor overlooking the ballroom, her eyes fixed on the glass doors leading onto the outer patio. The doors slid open quietly, clicking shut behind her and closing out the remaining murmurs of the party below.

Seating herself upon a stone bench beneath a wooden arch strung with plant life that included flowers not yet in bloom, Yuuki tugged her heels from her feet and leaned back against the divider that separated this side of the bench from the other.

 _Does he think this is a waste of time? Too dangerous? Or…_ Yuuki’s train of thought was interrupted by the gentle clicks of the door opening, and closing again. The sound of the event below came and went in a whisper, and the footfalls that followed were deliberate and unconcealed.

Yuuki smelled him before she saw him. To a vampire, the experience of meeting someone was much more about scent than it was for an ordinary person. There were two distinct scents to someone: The first, a product of their unique existence, detectable to anyone who spent enough time in their presence. The second, the flavor and profile of their blood. The surface scent of this man was subtle, like mechanical oil in metal, intermingled with a spicy undertone she couldn’t quite place. His blood was unusually heady, even for a vampire hunter, with a flavor like cooking ginger pork.

Zero sensed her before he saw her. Here we must pause, because the senses of a hunter have no common ground with the senses of a human being. Had he to describe what he perceived, he would explain it as an emptiness filled with silhouettes and ghostly trails overlaid across the surrounding world. A human was pale and wispy, easy to miss or ignore, while even the most feeble hunter or vampire was luminous, difficult to ignore and nearly impossible to conceal. In the case of a pureblood like Yuuki Kuran, it was like standing in the presence of a deity, or perhaps a demon. Which it was depended on your point of view.

He rounded the corner of the arch, and for a moment they simply looked at one another.

It wasn’t the first time they had met, nor even the fifth. Their families frequently visited with Kaien Cross, and on many occasions Yuuki could remember playing with a little boy that might have grown up into the white-haired man before her. But somewhere along the line something had changed, perhaps gone wrong. Was it just that he had finally adopted the standoffish demeanor of the average hunter? She had never gotten an answer to that question.

“Kuran,” It was Zero who broke the silence first.

Yuuki smiled and, patting the empty stretch of bent beside her, replied, “You don’t have to talk to me so formally, Zero.”

Seating himself, Zero produced a letter from his pocket, unfolded it, and passed it to her.

“I’ve been assigned to collaborate with you at Cross Academy,” he said.

The letter had barely passed into Yuuki’s hands when her features brightened, her reserved smile growing to something nearing jubilance as she read. It was the difference between a host quietly pleased to entertain a guest, and anybody learning that they would be able to do something exciting with a friend they had missed.

On the opposite side of the letter, Zero’s mildly irritated look gave way to one of bewilderment. Yuuki blinked rapidly at the surprised face that met her gaze over the top of the letter.

“Hey, Zero...”

He answered with a wordless affirmative, almost a hum.

“Do you think Uncle Cross’s dream is a good one?” she asked.

Zero looked away. It was a difficult question to answer, and not one he could make up his mind about in such a short amount of time. A part of him reeled defensively, the image of a friendly doctor turning feral flashing through his mind. The soft crinkle of paper being folded registered distantly, but it wasn’t until the folded letter was pressed into his hands that he reacted. Reflexively he jerked away from Yuuki’s touch, rising to a stand and only just stopping himself from reaching into his jacket.

The primal, feral thing that Yuuki shared her being with would have chased after him-- would have bolted upright and gone for his throat. It wasn’t the dominant part of her mind, and even had she been much hungrier she thought she would have been able to resist. But the fact was that she did have to resist this predatory impulse. It was an everyday exercise for any vampire, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t sting when somebody assumed she would fail that test.

Slowly and deliberately, Zero relaxed himself and took the slip of paper from Yuuki. He leaned against the stone railing opposite her and said, “I don’t know if it’s good, but it isn’t bad, either.”

“What about me?”

“What _about_ you?”

Yuuki stood up and took a step forward, extending her hand to press her index finger against Zero’s chest. With a note of accusation, she said, “You didn’t used to flinch away from me.”

Standing together like this, it seemed ridiculous, even to Zero. He knew not to judge a vampire of her lineage by appearances, but there was nothing outwardly threatening about Yuuki at all.

“Yuuki,” he sighed, “it isn’t about you.”

“Then--”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Zero cut her off and pocketed his letter.

“Then… dance with me,” Yuuki demanded.

“Fine,” he agreed, grudgingly.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

“Why do you think Kaname is refusing involvement?” Toga asked, leaned forward against the railing to look down upon the ballroom. Moments before, the Kuran heiress had led his apprentice down onto the dance floor, where they remained at this exact moment.

Kaien sat in one of a number of paired chairs situated strategically along the balcony, so that guests could rest and observe what was going on below. Most attendees were giving them both a wide berth, but all eyes had since been turned on the dancers. He said, “Oh, I don’t know. Except for fussing after my safety, he hasn’t talked about it very much. If I had to guess… he’s probably embarrassed to be seen with his uncle! Most kids his age want a little distance from the adults in their life.”

Toga shot Kaien a withering look.

Raising his hands in a faux-defensive posture, Kaien said, “Okay, okay… I’ll tell you what I think after the party. Have you considered my proposal for Ichiru’s enrollment?”

Tugging his cigarette packet out of his interior pocket and shaking one loose, Toga replied, “If anything went wrong...”

“Ichiru would be the most vulnerable. Toga...” Kaien laced his fingers together and peered at Toga over them, “eventually Ichiru will go his own way. If he isn’t allowed a little slack before then...”

* * *

_Personnel Report: Kiryu, Ichiru_

_Concerning the fitness of Probationary Junior Associate Kiryu Ichiru to serve as a full Associate: I have instructed both Kiryu twins to the best of my ability for the entirety of their lives. Under ordinary circumstances a below-average physique could be compensated for with diligence, training, and a willingness to engage in extreme pragmatism that most members of the Association prefer to avoid. See the case of the late Senior Associate Eiji Asai for one such example._

_In terms of objective skill at his chosen arms, Ichiru could compete with the vast majority of up-and-coming Junior Associates in a white room scenario. However, his physical deficiency runs deeper than a below-average physique. As you are aware, both vampires and hunters possess a greater well of “qi” (or vital force, if you prefer) than human beings. This property contributes to our longevity, physique, capacity to tap into the special properties of our bonded weapons, and ability to practice hemothaumaturgy._

_Ichiru is possessed, just barely, of enough qi to live. Which is to say that he has the physio-spiritual capacity of roughly a quarter of a human being. Within the context of his limits he is his brother’s equal, but without giving deference to those limits he is roughly equal to a decently-trained human capable of wielding a Stage Noll bonded weapon._

_If the Association had ten thousand Ichiru equipped with stage noll bonded rifles, they would constitute a formidable force multiplier that could overwhelm an army of feral “Level E” vampires. One Ichiru cannot serve a meaningfully useful combat role. Were he not a member of the Kiryu family, I would recommend making him the assistant of a more powerful Associate, but as it stands he could be turned into a vulnerability for the Kiryu family. My recommendation is a transfer to the station of Reserve Associate, and assignment to our civilian services or intelligence branch. A full in-depth analysis of the medical complications of Kiryu’s condition has been appended by Junior Medical Officer Frey._

_Second Officer Yagari Toga_

* * *

“You’ve read his fitness report?” Toga asked, his voice uncharacteristically muted.

Kaien nodded.

“And you think you have a place for him?”

“Yes,” Kaien said, leaning over to pluck the fresh cigarette from between Toga’s lips before he could light it, smiling faintly and jerking his head towards their hosts ascending the stairs a few yards away, “I believe that Cross Academy also carries unique possibilities for his special circumstances. You see, a part of the Night class’s purpose is to...”

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Yuuki was surprised how easy it had been to coax Zero onto the dance floor with her. As a boy he had been easier to speak to, to reach. But at some point it was as if a switch had flipped abruptly and, suddenly, the wariness that nearly everyone exhibited towards pureblooded vampires had manifested within him. He didn’t talk as much, least of all to her, and after he had flinched from her tonight she hadn’t expected him to consent to dance with her.

“Zero, there’s something I want to ask you.” Her voice was soft, careful. She didn’t want to make him withdraw.

His answer was a sharp breath, accompanied by a vocalization so subtle Yuuki might have imagined it, were they not moving so closely together that she could feel the tremor of it in his throat. A hint of exasperation lingered in that tiny answer, but Yuuki thought that she had been given permission to continue.

“Are you unsure of Chairman Cross’s dream, or of what the world might do to it?” She asked.

They parted for just a moment, barely joined at the hand by a step of their dance, and then turned in closer to one another. Zero stared down into Yuuki’s face, conflicted. A momentary impulse to depart from the dance, and the conversation, came and went. He understood, quite suddenly, that he had critically underestimated Yuuki Kuran. He had suffered a wound inflicted by the careless proxy wars of the purebloods, and been changed by it. She had not-- the intrigue, the backbiting, none of it had yet reached her. Time had refined and grown her, but in so doing it had not caused her to grow thorns.

But by the time their final dance wound to a close, Yuuki had still received no answer. She faced away from him, one arm outstretched with her hand in his, leaning back against him. Dozens of other dancers surrounded them in a like position, each just far enough away that it was not quite safe to speak above a hushed whisper.

Behind her, Zero shifted. His breath tickled her neck as he spoke into her ear, “Cross Academy is a threat to the powerful who wish to do as they please. Chairman Cross has just blindsided hunter and vampire society with this announcement. To most that would make him an amusing fool, but...”

“But?” Yuuki breathed.

Zero continued, “It’s impossible to ignore that he has obtained support from the heights of both our societies. In other words… this soirée is not much different than a declaration of war.”

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Toga and Zero left the Kuran’s venue shortly after the departure of the last few stray guests. It was usual for them to go in silence, but even for them they had fallen into a disturbed quiescence. The first communication that passed between them was a pause at either side of the car. Catching Zero’s attention with a sharp look, Toga inclined his head slightly and began to circle the vehicle.

Zero slid carefully underneath the car, discarding his jacket on the ground as he went. Tonight, their caution proved to be paranoia-- pulling himself back out again he said, “Clear. The only trail that has passed by here in the last little while is ours.”

Toga nodded, and climbed into the driver’s seat. The car wound through the mountains for what felt like an awfully long time he before their silence was broken again. He said, “Ichiru will be allowed to attend Cross Academy. He’ll be joining you and Ms. Kuran as a member of the Disciplinary Committee.”

“Why?” Zero wondered.

“It’s complicated,” Toga said, “but the short version is that the Chairman thinks he might be able to improve Ichiru’s condition. There are no guarantees, but there is nowhere else in the world that is conducting the sort of research that Cross Academy will be starting this term. Additionally, while Ichiru is a vulnerability in a combat situation, we think he might be a good early warning system. Don’t misunderstand his role, though...”

He pulled the car over and fished out a cigarette, placing it in the corner of his mouth and lighting it in a quick set of motions before getting the vehicle moving again, “When it comes to the physical enforcement of safety within Cross Academy, Ichiru will only be acting as a remote scout.”

Zero grunted, and rolled down the window. He complained, “Using those to distort their sense of smell has given you a disgusting habit, teacher.”

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Yuuki flung her shoes aside and shut her door behind her, blowing a great sigh of relief as she went. Allowing herself to fall forward through the opened curtains of her bed, she collapsed face-first into a layer of warm blankets and a multitude of comfortable pillows. There she lay in silence for a few long moments, allowing the stress of playing host to drain away. After a short while – she didn’t know how long – she turned over and stared at her canopy, the echoes of others’ words repeating themselves in her head.  


 _Are you quite certain about this, Uncle?_ Kaname’s words stuck out to her, especially now. She could no longer smell him within the house, or even for miles around. There was a trail leading away to the garages. If he had been there, she would’ve liked to have talked to him. About…

“A declaration of war,” she repeated, to her empty room.

Had she done that? Yuuki wondered, but no sooner had the thought entered her mind than she decided, yes, she had. Not only had she done that, but she had known from the start that it was what she was doing. It wasn’t that she wanted to go to war, or that she sought to dominate her surroundings as others of her kind did.

“I just want… the world that exists in Uncle Cross’s dreams,” she told herself.

A world, Yuuki thought, where she could be sure – more sure, at least – that her friends joined her out of desire and not out of societal obligation. 

A world where her childhood friend did not recoil from her touch.


	2. Reaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which reactions begin, some of an equal and opposite nature.

* * *

The ancestral home of the Kuran was not where the ruling family now resided. It was tucked away deep in the mountains, just barely within the height range that was still breathable for humans. The building that sat on the surface, a now-dilapidated manor surrounded by high brick walls tipped with wrought iron, was not the true residence. Each of the wings of the manor concealed a staircase that wound down, down, down into the earth. The steps leading down were carved out of the stone of the mountain, the splintered remains of airlock-style doors scattering the route from top to bottom, only the topmost and bottom-most seals still relatively intact. One single soul ascended and descended these stairs at least once a day, and had done so for thousands of years, wearing footprints into the stone. 

Rido Kuran was the eldest of the Kuran family, and he was the only one to inhabit this bleak shelter, alongside the few servants he could tolerate. Here he lingered now, reclined in slumber upon a great chair that he occasionally dreamed was a throne. Stylized chrysanthemums were etched into the floors of his chamber, long ago endowed with the might of his own parents’ blood. Although they had the property of repelling intruders, their true purpose was to bind him.

Mismatched eyes drifted open, gazing hatefully upon the etchings. Oh, they did not bind him fully. That was not possible. But they made him singular, weak. Rido could not disperse his being into familiars, or even create any to act on his behalf. If one of his descendants stood before him he could possess them, but that required proximity to initiate. His psychokinetic might could only be exercised within a foot of his own body, and if he took a single step outside the front gates his ability to regenerate would be diminished. The only power he possessed that was not bound was the right of command, and that only because they believed he did not care to use it.

That was wrong. Rido preferred to dominate by sheer force, but being left only this one unfettered tool, he employed it viciously when it was called for. Or, as the case may be, simply when he felt like it.

A presence stirred at the edge of his consciousness-- not of his own blood, he knew. His son was well away from this place, and his siblings preferred to forget that he existed. The first was familiar, a regular visitor. Then another came, and another. Little dots at the borders of the estate, which had perhaps been visited by two or three at a time in the last five hundred years, littered the space that Rido knew to be the gate of the manor.

It was impossible to contain his excitement. Rido’s lips stretched into a smile as he rose to his feet and loped forward, beginning the lengthy ascent to the household above.

There, a script that had been rehearsed a thousand thousand times and repeated a thousand thousand more played out as it had in the past. A red-haired duo strode out from the front door, one man, one woman. Elizabeth led the pair visibly, a half-step ahead of her cousin. Each of them was dressed in a dark suit, with a matching cloak-and-mantle that was only just out of style a hundred years or so ago. In her left hand she carried a candlestick, its singular flame like a bobbing will-o-wisp in the dark.

"Welcome, my lords," Elizabeth greeted them at the gate, which remained closed and locked. She had brought no key to open it with. Bowing ever-so-slightly, she continued, "If there is some hospitality we may offer you before you depart, you need but ask. But the Lord of the House is unwell, and not receiving visitors."

A towering man with short-cropped blonde hair, a neat beard, and eyes like ice stood at the fore of his retinue just outside the gates.

The front doors of the manor house flew open violently, the left-hand door coming part way off of its hinges. Rido Kuran staggered out into the moonlight, making his way rapidly towards the front gate.

To say that the elder Kuran did not look lordly would have been an understatement. At this particular moment he went barefoot; he was clothed only in an unbuttoned and striped nightshirt, and loose tattered pants that certainly were no less nightclothes than the shirt. He reached the front gate and shoved his chamberlains aside, grasping the bars and leaning forward against them, pressing his forehead against one of the horizontal bars.

"Asato," Rido breathed.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The current residence of the Kiryu family was a comfortable distance away from the Association’s headquarters by foot, nestled near the end of their street. To the left was a neighboring residence, immediately after which was a corner grocer. To the right was a street full of buildings, mostly more residences, but with the occasional small business. The Kiryu Household itself was a narrow white-faced building, with three visible floors, and a flat roof with a covered staircase winding down into the upper floor.

The rooftop was high enough that no immediately adjacent buildings were more than even with it, and bore unmistakable signs of heavy use. Long, stone planters had been arranged in two rows, within which a multitude of flowers had once been planted. They were absent now, replaced by tarps held down by tools, awaiting a fresh gardening season.

Windows that were not as vulnerable as they appeared offered glimpses into the sitting room, and two upper floor hallways. Though the windows bore heavy brown curtains, they were hardly ever drawn.

A record player sat on a squat, heavy end table set between two armchairs in the sitting room, across from a scuffed wooden coffee table and a shabby but comfortable-looking brown couch. A scattering of letters were left open on the coffee table, along with newspapers and the odd book or magazine.

The places of greatest activity on this particular morning were the rooms of Ichiru and Zero Kiryu. The pair occupied neighboring rooms, and their chambers could not have looked much more different.

Zero Kiryu’s room was the more bare of the two. A cramped writing desk occupied a space next to the door; a typewriter occupied its center, accompanied by a scattering of other writing materials and implements. A few letters sat atop a raised shelf at the back, along with a small lamp. A modest wardrobe sat opposite his bed, at the foot of which was a trunk, and underneath which was an additional personal locker. Squeezed into the space between the writing desk and the door was a coat rack. An iron-framed twin bed was covered in light gray sheets, a heavy winter quilt, and a single exceedingly flat pillow. No evidence of a hobby could be found in the open.

Ichiru Kiryu’s room was a place of curiosities. Although he shared a style of bed frame, wardrobe, and trunk with his brother, the similarities ended there. His desk was set against the wall shared with the hallway, and it had more in common with a tinkerer’s workbench than a place of study. An old globe with geography that had since shifted, bearing names of countries that had long since dissolved, inhabited by people long dead, sat on the left corner. The color had chipped from it here and there, rendering it partly drab and brown. In the rear-center was a four-armed machine with miniature motor mounts, partway disassembled, and spread out across the middle was a hand-drawn map of the town. The walls were lined with mismatched bookshelves, some bearing books, others bearing artifacts from the ruins of the civilizations of before. Crumpled papers occupied a small bin next to the desk. His bed was covered with blue sheets, and several heavy winter blankets of varying color.

Their rooms were separate, but with the doors opened – and they usually were – they could hear and speak to one another freely.

“Are you going so soon?” Ichiru asked. He sat at his desk, scooting a tiny screw along with his finger absentmindedly. He remarked, “You’ve been packing what sounds like your whole room into that trunk.”

Zero threw his footlocker onto his bed, cranking the padlock off of it and beginning to extract its contents. Gun cleaning supplies, mostly, but also a fallback pistol and a few knives. He replied, “Chairman Cross wants us there for pre-Term planning and setup. He needs to introduce us to the faculty, and wants us to inspect the security measures around the Night dormitory.”

“Must be nice,” Ichiru said, gloomily.

Pausing in his tracks, Zero looked over his shoulder towards the door. It had completely slipped his mind that he needed to deliver Ichiru’s orders, or for that matter that they had been penned at the end of the previous night’s car ride. The ink was so fresh that it had smeared when the letter was folded into its envelope. He crossed the room to his desk, snatched up the letter, and went into Ichiru’s room.

Ichiru blinked as Zero thrust the envelope into his hands. It smelled strongly of cigarette smoke, which caused him to wrinkle his nose in distaste. He seized his letter opener, sliced it open, and began to read.

* * *

_Reserve Associate Kiryu,_

_Effective immediately you are being transferred to the station of Junior Associate, in service to First Officer Cross. You have been enrolled as a student at Cross Academy, where you will join Junior Associate Zero as a member of the Disciplinary Committee. The purpose of your transfer is to assist in the development of an experimental environment intended to socialize young vampires and humans, with the hope of one day bridging the gap between our species. In addition to full access to Cross Academy’s teaching resources, you will be joining the Night (vampire) class in studying the condition of vampirism._

_To be clear, your role is intended to be observational and scholarly. This is not a transfer to a combat post._

_Second Officer Toga Yagari_

_Instructor of Ethics, Cross Academy_

* * *

A wave of annoyance passed over Ichiru in reaction to the letter’s closing clarification. Toga hadn’t needed to say that-- he knew his limitations. He didn’t like them, but he knew them, and he wasn’t about to endanger the people around him by acting irresponsibly. Perhaps he could find a way -- his eyes flicked towards the multi-engine device for an instant – but as he was…

He handed the letter back to Zero gingerly, his thoughts beginning to spin out into the possibilities of the assignment. Coexistence with vampires was a risky business, but…

“Do you need help packing?” Zero asked.

Ichiru glared fiercely at his brother, incensed by the question. It might have been well-meaning, but it was what he had experienced all his life-- what he had just experienced from their mentor. Concerns about his ability to get anything done, or even to take care of himself in basic ways. He nodded curtly and rose, ushering his brother out the door and shutting it behind him.

It wasn’t the first time that Zero had been answered with such a reaction. He knew that Ichiru was sensitive about his condition, but he also knew that sometimes, Ichiru did need help-- and he wouldn’t necessarily ask for it. That was something that they had in common, he supposed. He turned to face the closed door, inclining his head to rest against it with a light noise he knew was audible to the other side.

“Be ready to go in two hours,” Zero said. When no response came from within, he retreated back to his own room.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

“… and Zero and Ichiru will be here by this evening. I don’t expect Professor Yagari… goodness, it’s really strange to say that… until the day term begins. Early student arrivals will begin on the twenty eighth. It’s up to you and Kiryu to bring them up to speed on the Day and Night class’s special rules. We’ll need to run a special orientation session for those...” Kaien’s words trailed away. He looked towards Yuuki with concern.

They were touring the main campus together, excitedly – or so Kaien thought! – discussing the upcoming semester. But Yuuki, who now wore the distinctive white-and-black of the Night class uniform, had fallen completely silent.

“… Hey, hey, if you think this is boring we can stop, but don’t leave me behind to inhabit a butterfly!” he exclaimed suddenly, nudging Yuuki playfully in the side with his elbow.

“N-no, it’s nothing like that!” Yuuki protested, waving her hands animatedly for emphasis. She dropped her hands a moment later, the energy leaving her voice, “It’s just...”

“You’re worried about what Kiryu said,” Kaien said.

“Yes. Wait-- how do you...”

“I wouldn’t have been much of a hunter in my time if I couldn’t even lip read,” he replied, meeting Yuuki’s incredulous look with a mischevious wink.

“But then, aren’t _you_ worried, Uncle?”

Kaien sighed, bringing their walk to a halt. He reached over and ruffled Yuuki’s hair affectionately, a sad smile curving his lips. He said, “Yes, I am worried. I’ve been worried since I was a very young man, Yuuki. I was worried the day that your mother spared my life and made a friend of me, and I was worried when I had the Kuran and Kiryu families visiting underneath the same roof. Each time I thought to myself, ‘What will the world think of this?’ And each time, someone, somewhere disapproved and made it known-- if they found out.”

He seated himself against the railing separating the courtyard from the interior walkway, and motioned for Yuuki to join him. A moment later she did, swinging her legs lightly as she listened.

“Time has a way of smoothing rough edges, Yuuki. I’ve seen a lot of people leave this world in unpleasant ways, and the longer I live the less I think that any of them truly deserved it. My world would be so much smaller if your mother had never extended her hand in friendship in answer to...” Kaien glanced away, a little guiltily, “… to trouble that I brought her way. I want Cross Academy to build the bridges that allow future ‘Juri’ to extend their hand in friendship to as many people as they can. Along the way, I’ll surely see my past self, bringing trouble to his future friends.”

The warm, sunny smile that made Yuuki stand out among her peers returned to her face gradually. Smoothing down her mussed, ruffled hair with a free hand, she replied, "So you moved forward expecting trouble... and think that we'll come out the other side better for it?"

Kaien scooped Yuuki unceremoniously into a tight sidelong hug, and exclaimed, "My wonderful niece understands me completely!"

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Masami Arata’s office was constructed in the style of select pre-Fall architecture, using tracks in the floor and thin panels of paper and wood to adjust the space on demand. At this particular point in time the office was merely cut in two, with a forward meeting area styled as a tea or perhaps dining room separated from his private quarters by a pair of opaque, ornately-carved twin doors. It was an unorthodox style for the President of the Hunter’s Association to adopt, but Masami was not one to shy away from deviating from tradition in the name of personal comfort. Even for him, the profession of hunter was not an easy thing, and he needed to do what he could to attend to his own well-being.

Today a formal dining table had been abandoned in favor of a kotatsu. It was chilly, and though the elegant presentation Masami preferred was surrendered by this, he wasn’t inclined to surrender his comfort just now. There were bad times ahead-- perhaps. Depending on what he could do about it, at any rate.

An elaborate robe, frilled at the collar, remained his usual attire. Today his hair was drawn into a topknot, secured in place by a gold ornamental pin-and-holder set that stood out within his hair, glittering as the light caught it. There were many, even among his organization, that would take notice. The young man sitting across from him would not.

Kaito Takamiya regarded Masami dubiously. He was dressed in a black suit, though he had – to Masami’s perception, at least – the subtly rumpled appearance that was common among Toga’s apprentices. His suit was ever-so-slightly overdue for cleaning, and his tie was worn too loosely by half. It was a strange thing for the President to address a Junior associate directly in this way, and that was especially true with this one. There was only one possibility:

“I have a special assignment for you, Junior Associate Takamiya,” Masami said, lifting his fan – Kaito knew it to be his weapon – to rest it close to his face. When no reply came, he drew a folded missive from within his robes and passed it across the table between them. He continued, “First Officer Cross has made the decision to re-open Cross Academy as a place of learning for vampires, hunters, and humans alike.”

A tiny, disdainful exhalation was Kaito’s only immediate answer to that.

Masami nodded, “I see that we are in agreement. There is already Association involvement at the school, but so far First Officer Cross has gathered primarily those of our organization that were already close to him. I thought that it might be worthwhile to add an Associate with a contrary viewpoint to the experiment.”

“I don’t care if you want me to keep an eye on things,” Kaito replied, “but if you think I’m going to go start trouble in a place that wasn’t ever ‘for’ me, you should choose somebody else.”

An annoyed look flashed across Masami’s features. He flicked his fan open and swished it back and forth, a gesture that Kaito knew was usually intended as a subtle threat. Masami’s lips curved into a hollow smile, and he replied, “I would not, of course, send you to disrupt Kaien Cross’s school. Your role will be to make certain that they do not give undue deference to their...”

He clicked his tongue in disapproval, “’Night class’, to the detriment of their real students.”

Kaito plucked the missive from the table and unfolded it. After a moment of reading he let it fall back to the table, resting his hand against his chin.

“Takuma Ichijo is on the Night class roster.” he observed, his tone distant and thoughtful.

“Yes. I thought you would take notice of that,” Masami folded his fan with a light click, bringing it to a rest against the table in front of him, “and it is a great deal of what made me decide to send another Associate to Cross Academy. I do not think I need to tell you how influential the Ichijo family is in this world. The question is...” he trailed away, hoping to coax Kaito into giving his own point of view ahead of sharing his own.

“… Whether the Ichijo family are true believers, or simply seizing on a perceived business opportunity,” Kaito finished, rightly assuming that he was being tested.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The drive to Cross Academy was a lengthy one, though neither difficult or unsafe. The road was paved and well-maintained, winding up through the mountains towards what was once the estate of the Cross family. The main gate faced town, stretching the length of the readily traversable plateau. On one side it terminated at steep, practically impassable terrain, and on the other within thick forest. The road itself was simple, two-laned, and there were no other roads that branched off of it. Students would arrive by train, and more than likely have a driver waiting to take them up to the school. In the case of locals like the Kiryu brothers however, it was simply an hour and a half drive from their own residence.

Zero kept the window on the driver’s side cracked, cool mountain air whistling in across his face. Had he been alone he would have had the windows both down, but Ichiru was present and couldn’t tolerate the temperature as well as he could.

“Are there any classes you’re looking into in particular?” he asked, breaking the half-hour silence that had dominated the first stretch of the drive. There had been a time when he and his brother were so close that he could have predicted Ichiru’s answer, but they had long since grown apart. When their training had intensified and Ichiru’s stamina no longer proved adequate to keep up, the paths of their lives had diverged so sharply that Zero couldn’t keep up with what Ichiru was up to anymore.

In the passenger seat, Ichiru sat with a folded map halfway covered by a brochure for Cross Academy, along with a confidential information packet for members of the Night class. Pushing his glasses up his nose, he glanced at Zero and asked, “Are you interested, or just trying to make up for earlier?”

This was the sort of standoffish exchange that had become the norm between them since then. It stung Zero, that there was so little trust between them now, but he had the discipline not to show it. He tilted his head in Ichiru’s direction and replied, “If we had to weigh the ‘brains’ between the two of us, we both know which would win that contest. That doesn’t mean I’m thick enough I wouldn’t consider your lead on the available courses.”

Ichiru relaxed visibly in his seat, turning the Night class packet over. A little awkwardly, he said, “It… depends on whether I can attend Night class courses. Chairman Cross seems to have some hemothaumaturgy laboratories planned that I would like to know more about. There’s a class on hunter-vampire biology, and the relative condensation of qi within hunters and the different castes of vampires.”

“I wasn’t under the impression that Night and Day classes would intersect directly that much,” Zero said, one hand twisting the leather of the steering wheel with an audible creak.

“They don’t,” Ichiru said, shuffling the packet, “but there are special accommodations for a few corner cases. Members of the Dawn class conduct the majority of their classes along with the Day class, but have the option to participate in a limited selection of Night class activities. The counterpart within the Night class is the Dusk class. They seem to be intended respectively for hunters, certain formerly human vampires, and prefects in general.”

“Formerly human…?” Zero wondered, in surprise.

“Yes,” Ichiru said, matter-of-factly, “I was surprised by that, too. I think Chairman Cross is just establishing a precedent in case of former humans who are too connected to public human society to be plausibly sorted into the Night class outright. For now, it doesn’t seem to matter-- the only member of the Dusk class is Miss Kuran.”

Zero hummed affirmatively, but gave no other reply.

The time that followed passed with little chatter between the brothers. They arrived at Cross Academy to the greetings of friendly porters, who reassured them that they would take their belongings and get them situated at the Sun dorm. Both declined, though they took the porter’s cart all the same. They were halfway down the bridge to their dormitory when somebody called out to them.

“Zero! Ichiru!” Yuuki shouted, waving as she approached. She had a frazzled, sleepy look to her, as if she had been awake all through the day and only troubled to nap for a few minutes on somebody’s couch. Her clothes were rumpled, her hair unnaturally mussed.

Ichiru waved uncertainly at Yuuki, glancing sidelong at Zero.

Zero’s expression was unusually alert and animate, his eyebrows lifted high at the sight of the young woman approaching them. She had a way, he thought, of presenting herself as helpless – or perhaps merely ordinary – that stood at sharp odds with what he knew she was. But what did that mean, if he knew that it was not a facade? What was it for a Pureblood to be not a deity or demon, not a demigod or holy person, but really and truly just ‘the girl next door’?

Yuuki slowed down as she got within speaking distance, her arm flopping to her side.

Then they each greeted one another, in their own manners: Ichiru, politely but unsure and perhaps insincere; Yuuki, endlessly energetic and a little oblivious; Zero, gruff and awkward if well-meaning. Together they walked on, closing the previous chapter of their lives, uncertain of what precisely was to come but anticipating – with excitement, with trepidation, with hope – the possibilities that Cross Academy would bring them.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Their conversation had moved from the front gate to the shabby front parlor of the manor. Here, Rido Kuran paced the length of the room like a mad beast, his breathing uneven and excited. He was like a child on his birthday, eager to open a mountain of gifts being held aside until after supper and cake.

“You _want_ me to re-claim the title of Vampire King?” Rido asked, in surprise. It was not something he ever imagined to hear. No-- more than that, what he didn’t expect to hear was something even more elementary than that: That he, Rido Kuran, was **wanted**. It had been a very long time since anyone had offered him anything but grudging acknowledgment. To most, he was a burden. Asato had never treated him in this way, of course. Whether it was sincere or not, Rido did not know, and yet neither did he wish to coerce the answer by leveraging the authority of his presence. 

If the answer was no, he didn't want to know that.

Asato Ichijo was seated in a great wing-backed armchair, dust-covered from neglect, scuffed from occasional harsh treatment. He had the look of a king in the way that Rido had never had, and even seated within this moldering old chair, it was impossible to look at him and not think that he cast it in a regal light by sitting in it.

“It is my belief as the Head of the Vampire Council,” Asato said, “that you have been punished for more than long enough. I have already begun the process of formalizing your future release, and the recruitment of hemothaumaturges to search for a means to undo your bindings. I would not taint such joyous news with ill tidings, if it were not gravely urgent.”

Rido ceased his pacing, crouching low and leaning forward to look curiously at Ichijo, who took this as permission to continue.

“Your younger siblings,” Asato said, “have permitted their eldest child to endorse a… course of societal development that I believe will be detrimental to the well-being of our people.”

“Juri wouldn’t do such a thing,” Rido spat, rising a little ways, his posture tensed-- not quite imminently threatening, but not far from either.

Sensing danger, Asato inclined his head submissively and replied, “Lord Rido, your sister’s kindness is renowned among our society. But it is that same kindness which her daughter carries forward, with the intent to socialize our kind with humans-- if they succeed, it is their hope that there will be no more divide between us. That will put many vampires under the authority of their lessers. Your sister’s rule is worthy, but the consequences of what her daughter will do will allow the unworthy to rule in her place.”

The tension bled from Rido as he sank back to a low crouch.

“So you want me instead.”

“That is so, Lord Rido.”

Rido nodded, and stood abruptly. He staggered out towards the doors-- pausing for an instant to clap Asato on the shoulder as he went – and threw them open. With each step more steady, he walked to the front gate and stopped at the threshold of the wards. Placing his hand against the frame of the gate, he leaned against it and looked out across the dirt trail leading down the mountain.

Staring out across the trail that he never again thought he would descend, it occurred to Rido Kuran that it had been so long since he felt needed by another living soul, he could not even remember the last one’s name, or even if they had been real.


	3. Gunshot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the sounds of gunshots mark a beginning, Ichiru makes his displeasure known, and the rumor mill of Cross Academy begins to turn.

* * *

Yuuki woke to the sound of a gunshot in the distance. It was a foreign sound; those who were tasked with guarding the Kuran estate had no need for such a tool, and the majority of the hunters that she knew made use of close-range weapons. At first she wondered if somebody was setting off fireworks in town, but seven more shots sounded soon after, and then another eight after a brief pause. For a fleeting instant she was alarmed, her breath catching in her throat at the thought of the “trouble” she had discussed with Chairman Cross coming so soon.

But no scent of blood was so overpoweringly strong as to inform her that it had been shed. On the other side of the lake she could smell her Uncle, sleeping in his bed-- his blood had an earthy quality to it, like a cool bed of moss on a summer day. It didn’t entice her as some scents did, but it did offer her a sense of comfort and reassurance. Then there was a scent a little beyond it, at the Sun Dormitory. It had been some time since she had visited with Ichiru Kiryu, and although she had managed to hide it, the smell of him had surprised her when placed next to his brother. It was, above all other things, like the smell of disinfectant and cleaning solutions that one encountered in a hospital-- and even more unusually it intensified and withdrew like the tide, disappearing from her perception for brief periods of time before re-asserting itself in force.

There was only one other person that it could be, and the scent of him formed a trail from the Sun Dorm to the main campus. Pushing back her sheets she rose, and followed the sound of gunshots.

The shooting range at the main building was dark, as if it remained unoccupied. Zero Kiryu stood at the lane farthest from the door, two firearms laid out in front of him. As Yuuki entered, Zero tugged off a pair of heavy ear muffs and laid them between the weapons.

"Sorry," Zero said, unprompted. He didn't seem as tense to Yuuki as the last time they met.

Yuuki blinked in surprise, padding across the cool concrete floor to join him at his aisle. She looked down the lane towards the target, riddled with holes, and wondered, "What for?"

"I woke you, didn't I?"

"Maybe a little," she agreed, looking down at the pistols.

"May I--?"

Zero considered Yuuki, then reached out to remove the leftmost weapon. Bloody Rose was easy to mistake for an ordinary -- if customized -- weapon at a glance, and he knew that it would repel her. He replaced it in the holster presently situated at the small of his back, and then pressed a finger to the second gun on display, sliding it towards Yuuki. Compared to Bloody Rose, the revolver was plain if well-cared for. The body was black, with a brown wooden grip and a rough texture where it would sit in the palm.

"Bloody Rose would burn you," he explained.

"Is this what you do for fun?" Yuuki asked, lifting the revolver tentatively.

Zero had to think about that. After a moment he shook his head and circled to Yuuki's right side, "No. Lift it high on the grip, but always check the cylinder first. That button next to your thumb opens it."

"Here?" She asked, applying light pressure.

Yuuki heard him make an affirmative noise as the cylinder dropped open. She jumped lightly as something fell out, trying to catch it-- spent brass scattered across the floor, still warm from recent firing. A couple settled, uncomfortably hot against her arm, and she jerked them forward to deposit them on the counter next to the lane.

He had already begun to collect those which rolled away.

"Sorry," Yuuki said, "so if it's not for fun, it's just... training? Or something else?"

"Training, yes. But that's not how I would describe it," Zero deposited the spent shells on the counter, and continued, "I would call it 'meditation'. It's one of the ways I clear my head. Do you want to try?"

Nodding quickly, Yuuki raised the now-emptied revolver and asked, "If this is 'just work and meditation', what do you do for fun?"

Zero fished a box of bullets out of his duffel, lining twelve of them up on the counter in front of Yuuki. He shrugged, but said nothing.

Yuuki loaded the first bullet, looked at Zero for input -- receiving only a curt nod -- before finishing the rest. She pushed the cylinder shut with a click and raised the gun to point it downrange one-handed, squeezing her left eye shut to look down the sights.

"I don't... really have time to mess around," he admitted, and it took Yuuki a moment to realize that he was finally answering her question.

"Is that _really_ okay, Zero?" Yuuki wondered, pointing the gun absent-mindedly at the ceiling as she turned to look back towards him.

Zero corrected the bearing of her barrel, pushing it so that it was angled towards the ground before he answered, "Isn't it?"

"It isn't! You should have _something_ ," Yuuki insisted, confusion giving way to dawning understanding when she considered that there was in fact an upstairs. She mouthed a silent 'sorry'.

He sighed, and Yuuki couldn't discern the meaning behind it-- or if there was any meaning at all.

"Both hands. Wrap your offhand under your dominant hand to give it stability. Keep your finger off the trigger while you're adjusting your grip," Zero instructed, stepping to the side to correct Yuuki's grip in increments until he was satisfied.

She pouted, "I don't need to hold something like this in both hands..."

"I know," he said, "neither do I. But learning proper form for somebody weaker is a helpful starting position. You can figure out what else works for you later. Then, if your physique is ever compromised, you can still use it with proficiency. Let me switch the targets for you..."

Zero wound his damaged target in and switched it for a fresh one. While he did so, he asked, "What about you?"

"What do you mean?" She replied, resuming lining up her target.

"If 'that' isn't okay, what does the Snow Daughter do for fun?"

Yuuki hadn't expected that sort of teasing from Zero. She angled her aim towards the ground again, a moment's laughter causing her shoulders to shake. She replied, "What's with that nickname? A-anyway, I like to do... physical things! Um, that is, things that involve a lot of motion. Like climbing, or gymnastics! I was actually thinking of trying fencing, too."

His lips curled into a smile that Yuuki found thoroughly disarming, and stepped out of her sight for a moment, rummaging around in his bag. A moment later he came up behind her and said, "Hold still." 

The earmuffs he secured on her head were heavy but not uncomfortable, giving her breathing a curiously audible quality that made Yuuki feel strange.

Zero came up alongside her again and put on the pair that had already been sitting out.

Raising the revolver Yuuki took aim and fired once, experimentally. It was more force than she was used to in recoil, but even grasping it weakly was more than enough to keep it more-or-less steady. Tightening her grip gently, she fired five more times. She didn't speak while she unloaded and reloaded the weapon, but Zero gave her a moment's pause by lifting the cup of her right earmuff.

"Take a deep breath and hold it before you start firing on the next set."

She made an affirmative noise, turning a determined gaze forward. The cup came to rest against her ear again, and as soon as it had she raised and emptied the revolver a second time.

Both of them removed their headwear once the ammunition was run through. Zero wound the target retrieval carrier back in and passed the target towards Yuuki. The initial shot grouping showed a bit of shakiness that remained within the outer two target zones, while the second round tightened up considerably.

"How'd I do?" Yuuki held the target up in front of her for Zero to see, momentarily concealing him behind it. She heard the sound of the revolver's spent brass being ejected again, accompanied by a thoughtful hum. It was only when she peeked over the edge of the target that she found him surveying the target -- was it the target, or was it her he was judging? -- critically.

"Seventy nine... no, eighty out of a hundred," he decided.

"You weren't sure if I was a C+ or a B-?!"

He shook his head, and replied, "You were about average at first, but you learned quick enough. It's not an insult. If it bothers you, do better next time."

Lifting the used target high, Yuuki frowned. She looked between it and Zero, until the course of the conversation distracted her from her dissatisfaction.

"Is that an invitation?" She asked, but Zero had begun to busy himself with cleaning up. The rattle of brass being deposited into what Yuuki thought was an old coffee can echoed through the range. The last thing that he moved to clean up was the revolver, and the spent brass beneath it. Eleven of the twelve he haphazardly discarded into his bag, not troubling with the coffee can. The twelfth, however, he took into the palm of his hand.

A little impatiently, Yuuki asked, "Zero?" in the hopes of bringing attention back to her question.

"Well..."

Zero took Yuuki's hand, and to her surprise he was quite gentle, more akin to her Uncle Cross than any of the other hunters she had met. They had a tendency -- not unlike vampires, in Yuuki's opinion -- to grow agitated at the presence of other predators, and to attempt to convey their strength in some way. There was none of that in the way he touched her.

Depositing the lone remaining shell in the palm of Yuuki's hand, he finished his thought, "If you showed up again, I wouldn't mind."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

By the time Zero returned to his quarters, the door across the hall was opened. He glanced that way as he entered his own room, tossing his duffel on the ground with a heavy thump, and bending low for an instant to seize one of the loose shells rolling around the bottom of it. Striding back to the door, he perched the piece of brass atop the doorframe.

Ichiru stepped across the hallway lightly, his presence almost invisible, even to his brother. He leaned against the doorframe and glanced up above, towards what Zero had been doing an instant before. He asked, "What were you doing with her?"

He shrugged, "My practice woke her up. I suppose she decided to come see what I was doing."

"And why didn't you leave after that?"

"I know you don't sleep this early, Ichiru," Zero said, shucking his shirt off into his laundry bag.

Ichiru inhaled deeply and shut his eyes, clearly trying not to lose his patience. Slowly, deliberately, he said, "I'm asking why you allowed yourself to be vulnerable around the third most dangerous predator you will probably ever meet."

Zero sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at the floor. It was a good question, even if he wasn't quite certain that Ichiru came here to talk instead of scold. After an awfully long silence -- which Ichiru was evidently used to, because he neither moved to leave or seemed to expect a quick response -- he decided that he'd prefer not to erect more walls between himself and his brother.

"It's not that I don't understand the danger. Teacher's eye..." He remembered a flash of claws and a great line of scarlet soaring through the air, his voice trailing away for a moment before he picked his thoughts back up again, "... but if you want to know what I was thinking, it was just that... 'I don't want to distrust this person'. That's all."

"She could kill you! She could worse than kill you, she could turn you into an empty puppet!" Ichiru exclaimed in frustration.

"Yes."

"And you'd rather--"

"Yes," Zero repeated, this time with conviction that his brother knew he could not gainsay.

Ichiru glowered at him.

"It's fine," Zero said, rising to join his brother at the door, "if it comes to that, I know you'll avenge me."

It was such an off-putting response that Ichiru was caught off guard by it. He raised a hand to cover his mouth, an involuntary chuckle escaping despite himself. Caught in the profoundly unnatural state of being incredibly angry while simultaneously forced to amusement, he spat back, "Y-you are fucking ridiculous, Zero." Then he stormed away, slamming his door behind him.

"Yeah..." Zero agreed with the empty doorway, and shut the door behind Ichiru.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

By the time she returned to her room, Yuuki's hunger had intensified dramatically. She carefully placed the shell she had been given on her windowsill and tumbled back into bed, resting her hands against her stomach. While they were talking and shooting, the thirst had managed to drift into the back of her mind, but with nothing but her thoughts and the smells around her, it was beginning to drive her crazy.

His scent trail drifted over from the Sun Dormitories with all the potency of a fresh-cooked meal coming out of a well-loved kitchen, and it was only that it intermingled with the revolting chemical scent of Ichiru that stopped her from seriously considering whether or not he'd give her some, if she just asked nicely. It wasn't the sort of thing you just sprung on somebody like that, anyway. The thought made her face burn involuntarily.

Clapping her hands against her face several times to help steady her thinking, Yuuki sat back up and seized the little paper packet at her nightstand, taking it to the pitcher-and-basin that stood next to the window. She dumped several of the tablets in the pitcher and watched them dissolve, steadily tinting the water pink.

The tablets had been the key to all of this. They needed a way to help vampires cope with their hunger without feeding on live prey, and these were the answer to that-- early batch though they were. Yuuki made a face at the faint scent wafting up from the tinted water; it did not have a singular quality to it, but many diluted flavors and textures that more-or-less averaged out to only vaguely tasting like food.

Suffice to say that it was dramatically inferior to the lovingly crafted feast that tormented her from afar. Yuuki poured a glass anyway and sipped at it, scrunching up her face in distaste at the resulting bombardment of mediocrity.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

It was early the next morning when the first wave of cars arrived for the Day class.

Ichiru and Zero stood out along the front lawn alongside the porters, conducting the business of verifying the arrival of students before sending them on their way to be relocated to their dormitories.

"A mandatory special orientation will be held in the Sun dorm's primary common room at six o'clock tonight. The Moon dorms are off-limits to all Day class students. Be aware that the gate to the main campus will be closed to regular traffic at seven each night, when the Night class begins, and Day class students are not permitted out during that time block," Zero looked down at his clipboard and read off a few names, then asked, "Are any of you among the names I've just read off?"

A brown-haired, bespectacled young man raised his hand and stepped forward. He was of average height, not particularly standing out in the crowd at all. He said, "I'm Kasumi Kageyama, Prefect."

Zero nodded and stepped forward, guiding Kasumi out of the crowd and bringing him to stand between himself and Ichiru, flipping through the paper on his clipboard. After a moment he said, "Kageyama, you'll continue to act as your class's president until just before midterms. A new election for student government posts will be held at that time. Your class assignment is 2A."

He removed a page from his clipboard and passed it to Kasumi, "Gather your classmates. The porters will see you to class 2A's block of rooms. Room assignment may be discussed among yourselves, and will be passed on to the dorm president for review. All arrangements will be finalized on the first of September. We expect you to handle any disputes in the meantime."

"If we have any problems--" Kasumi began.

But Zero cut him off, "You can come to the Prefects, and we'll escalate you to faculty if it's necessary at this time. You can distinguish us with the armband."

The majority of those gathered dispersed with Kasumi, who started organizing them boisterously a moment later. The sound of porters and carts clattering along the stone paths rumbled along, fading into the distance.

Meanwhile, Ichiru was already engaged with another student who had come forward.

"... Shindo. That would make you Class 2B's President," Ichiru said, lifting his head from his own clipboard and looking over the thinned crowd. He made a troubled noise-- there were only two of them here at this exact moment. He said, "Everything that Kiryu just said to Kageyama applies to you, but less of class 2B has arrived. If it's not too much trouble, please take a seat in the main hall and we'll call for you when more of class B has arrived. If they don't, Zero and I will get you situated."

"O-okay!" Nadeshiko replied, smiling nervously and wheeling her trunk away towards the lobby. She paused and asked, "You're both new students this year, right? Coming in on the Chairman's new program? Do you know what class you're assigned to yet?"

"It's a little complicated, but since we're here to help with the integration of the Night class, our curricular structure will be nonstandard," Ichiru answered. He smiled faintly, and asked, "Were you hoping we would be a part of 2B? If you show me your schedule later, I might see if I can line some of our classes up."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

It was evening when the first wave of cars arrived for the Night Class. Ichiru was stuck waiting there with the porters while Zero took off to conduct the special orientation, and Yuuki had arrived carrying a parasol for the small period of daylight she had to endure as the sun sank beneath the horizon. It wasn't dangerous for her, of course-- but that didn't mean she enjoyed it, either. At the very least it was too bright for her tastes.

The pair of them stood in relative silence until the first wave of students had arrived -- they were acquaintances through her social circle, not among the close circle of friends Yuuki knew would be arriving at her request. Her hunger had receded thanks to the tablet-water, and it withdrew further from being so close to Ichiru's stench. Here it didn't rise and fall, instead pulsing with periodic intensity that she could only compare to a heartbeat.

More than that, though...

They hadn't spoken a single unnecessary word to one another since they wound up on Prefect duty together.

"Are you okay?" She asked, between waves of students.

Ichiru looked surprised for an instant, then answered curtly, "Yes."

But he didn't ask why she'd asked. Yuuki pressed, "It's just... you've been very quiet with me. You're not that way with the other students."

"No, I'm not."

"Then why--?"

His hand slid to the sheath of his weapon, where it rested uneasily. Yuuki didn't detect an intent to attack, so she assumed that it was simply a defensive gesture. Something that made Ichiru feel better in lopsided circumstances.

"Do you know what the difference is between you and the rest of the Night class?" He asked.

"What?"

"Individually," Ichiru said, "I could probably kill any one of them in twenty seconds. At the very least, I'm strong enough that they have to think twice about preying on me. They might not get away without sustaining a wound that would last forever. There's no danger in lowering my guard a little, not that I would lower it completely. You... you're like a dinosaur-- or a dragon. Even if I wounded you, you would crush me, and I probably wouldn't even accomplish that much."

Yuuki's heart sank. She had never remembered being on bad terms with Ichiru-- he was the more polite of the Kiryu twins, but definitely the more cold. It wasn't even that she'd done something to disturb him. If it was that, she could at least comprehend what she'd done wrong and try to make up for it. This wasn't fixable, though. There was no fence to mend. She just existed wrong.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

It was with what felt like a leaden weight in her stomach that Yuuki secured the front gates of Cross Academy for the night. Ichiru had gone on ahead of her, taking the fork in the path towards the Sun Dormitory. They had not spoken directly since Ichiru had told her exactly what his problem with her was. Yuuki did not know what she could possibly say after that. She was just about to head back to the Moon Dormitory when the crack of a gunshot caught her ear.

This time she knew better than to be troubled by it. On the contrary, the sound gave Yuuki a momentary thrill, lifting a bit of the weight that was bringing her down. It was only just this 'morning' for her, but the promise that she wouldn't be minded was a scrap of warmth that she sorely needed. She followed the trail of his scent down into the range, pausing just inside the doorway.

Zero glanced towards Yuuki as she walked in, the slide of Bloody Rose falling forward with a heavy mechanical chnk. He replaced the gun at the small of his back rather than returning to his own practice, turning to lift a leather case onto one of several benches that ran behind the lanes. The zipper of the case whirred as it was drawn open, and Yuuki saw a gleam of shiny brass within.

"This sort of weapon isn't what I'm best with," he said, removing a small lever-action repeater from the case, "but it is what my teacher introduced me to during the earliest portions of my instruction. I thought you might like to try it."

Her gaze flicked rapidly from his face, to the rifle, and back again. Taking a couple of steps forward, she asked, "Did the same person teach Ichiru?"

An affirmative vocalization followed, but Zero said nothing. He raised the repeater as if to present it to her, but she didn't look back to it yet.

"Did he teach you that you couldn't trust a vampire?" Yuuki's fingers found the gun, one hand sliding along the stock and the other just beneath the barrel. A glint of something flashed as she angled it a little towards her, but she didn't catch what it was.

"... Yeah." Zero admitted. But tonight, he didn't flinch away.

"Bring it up against your shoulder, like this. It isn't loaded, but if it was you would operate the lever to eject the rounds one at a time without firing it," Yuuki felt hazy as she was instructed, for more than one reason, not all immediately apparent to her. This time he was being far more physical about orienting her, standing behind her and guiding her hands directly. She heard him talk about loading it, and guided several rounds into the chamber as she was instructed.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" She blurted out, midway through.

"No," There was no hesitation in his answer. Yuuki leaned back against him, blinking through the mistiness that began to blur her vision.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to be afraid of you."

He lifted the gun out of her hands and laid it aside on the bench-- and as it passed by, the same glint she had seen before caught Yuuki's attention in the polished brass of the gun, her eyes widening as she recognized what she'd seen. Her eyes gleamed a threatening, ravenous red. They must have been this whole time.

No more gunshots rang out in Cross Academy that night.

The two of them talked, on and off, but about what neither of them would have been able to tell anyone in detail afterwards. What they said was less important than that they had given, and what they had given to one another was gentle support.

After a long while Zero said, "I have reception duty in the morning."

Following a few minutes of clean-up, Yuuki found herself standing with Zero at the V-shaped fork that led off to their respective dormitories. She wanted to say something, but before she could find the words Zero nodded at her and began his walk towards the Sun Dorm.

Yuuki lingered there for a moment before, finally making a decision, she sprinted down the Sun dorm's bridge to catch up with Zero.

He looked at her, a little surprised.

"Night class students aren't permitted in the Sun dorm."

"Nope," Yuuki agreed, pointing at herself, "but I'm a Dusk class Prefect. I can go where I need to."

Zero thought about that, evidently decided that it was acceptable rationale for now, and nodded.

A few heads emerged from doors along the hall as Zero returned with Yuuki at his side. Each of them in their turn received sour looks that sent them retreating-- but the damage, Zero knew, was done. This would be the subject of gossip in the common room tomorrow. If he was unlucky, they would ask questions directly. He was going to have to head that off at the pass if he wanted to avoid it the rest of the year.

"Goodnight," He said, disappearing into his room. The door shut lightly behind him, and Yuuki could hear something metallic rattle to the floor on the other side.

"See you tomorrow!" Yuuki exclaimed, and turned back 'round to begin the journey back to the Moon dorms.


	4. Arrivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ichiru wins a coin flip, meetings occur and possibilities are discussed, and awkwardness waxes and wanes.

* * *

The day that followed was as full of gossip as Zero had guessed it would be, but nobody was yet feeling bold enough to bring it directly to him, which spared him the effort of frightening people away. He carried his clipboard down the hall to the main common room, Ichiru quickly falling into step alongside him. They stopped together just inside, and flipped a page back, almost in sync, before looking at one another.

"I'll take 1A through C and 2B. You take 2C through 3C," Zero offered.

Ichiru narrowed his eyes, "Wouldn't it make sense for me to take 2B?"

"Nine doesn't divide evenly, it's not possible to make it fair. Do you want the extra class?"

Ichiru fished a coin out of his pocket, "Call it."

"Heads."

The coin soared into the air and dropped back into Ichiru's hand. He said, "Tails. I'll take the extra."

"The winner gets more work? That's fine by me."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The receiving of Day Class students continued without much excitement or incident. Zero finished wrapping up the evening's mandatory orientation to go over the rules surrounding class movement privileges and the off-limits nature of the Moon dorm, then headed out towards the Chairman's house.

The building was situated on the edge of the lake, a short walk from the Sun Dorm. As he went, Zero swept his sixth sense towards the opposite side of the lake. His senses were exceptional for a hunter, even for his lineage, and so long as he was paying attention it wasn't possible for most vampires -- or even some hunters -- to pass beneath his notice within the scope of Cross Academy's grounds. The cluster of vampires there had grown, though only one of them had the sheer gravity of a Pureblood's presence. There were a few Nobles gathered already, but most of the vampires there were low-class. From the lineages of turned humans, or themselves formerly human.

Their numbers were low compared to human students, but still enough that Zero couldn't help but be surprised at the lack of incidents so far. He would've guessed at least one of them would test the waters by now, see how much they could get away with. Did they want to please the Princess? Had they been ordered? Or were they really just behaving on their own?

He opened the front door of the house and headed on through to the upstairs home office. It wasn't hard to figure out where Kaien Cross was at any given time-- the man had a presence that exceeded that of most vampire nobility. Zero might have mistaken him for a vampire, if he did not know better.

"Ah! Kiryu. You're a little early," Kaien greeted him, closing a folder that was lying open in front of him. The writing on the front of it declared it to be some sort of running arrivals ledger for the current year.

"My report won't take long," Zero replied.

"It sounds..." Kaien began, rising abruptly with his hands braced against his desk, "like you're trying to get away from me as quickly as you can, Kiryu!" The light by the door caught the lenses of his glasses, giving him the temporary look of a madman.

Zero ran his hand through his hair and then back down across the side of his face, offering the impression of deep exasperation. He sat at one of several chairs across the desk, resting his head against his hand. He didn't have a problem with Chairman Cross exactly, but he didn't have the temperament to interact with men like him, either. He fixed the elder hunter with a cycloptic dead-eyed look, his left eye concealed by his hand.

Kaien sat back down and replied, "So serious! There's no need to be like that."

"Besides," He went on, bridging his hands in front of himself, "things are going very well. There's nothing to be worried about! I have some news for you, but I'd like to hear what you have to report first."

"News...?" Zero answered, his aggravated demeanor abating. He shook his head, "There's not much to say. We have about a quarter of anticipated Day Class students and a third of Night Class students situated. Incidents have been limited to ordinary personal disputes and middle-of-the-road rule breaking. All Class Presidents for the Day Class have arrived as of final check-in tonight, so I've delegated remaining orientations to them. I'll be checking in with them tonight to make sure they understand the information they need to convey, and reviewing their room assignments ahead of the dorm President's arrival. I'll send Ichiru over to review all of this tomorrow, he's more attention-detailed than I am."

Kaien nodded, and asked, "What about your class schedule? Have you decided yet?"

"No. Ichiru has..." Zero sighed, "Ichiru has committed me to overlapping my schedule at least partially with his and Shindo's. I don't mind that much but I haven't made any decisions yet otherwise. I'll get it done by the thirty first." He got up to leave, only to be held up short by Kaien an instant later.

"Hold on, hold on, I told you I had news! Don't you want to hear it?"

Zero paused, but did not sit back down.

A little downcast, Kaien said, "We have at least one surprise last-minute enrollment. Well... it's not that big a surprise, we announced things so close to term that people had to sign up without giving it much thought! But the Association is going to be sending another Associate to keep an eye on things. Toga's other apprentice, Kaito Takamiya. What is your opinion of that?"

Surprise flickered across Zero's face, but he quickly concealed it. He asked, "Professional or personal?"

"Both, please."

Zero nodded, and replied, "Professionally, Kaito is pragmatic and effective. He could be described as 'aggressive', but that's not quite correct. It's more accurate to say that he baits enemies into a trap that they can't escape from without obeying his expectations for their behavior. He doesn't mind people understanding that, but he hates to be out of control of the situation around him. I would describe him as the opposite of Ichiru, who acts as quickly as possible and doesn't want to be understood ahead of time at all."

"Personally..." He glanced out the window, "he follows Toga's philosophical inclinations fairly closely. Though he is capable of seeing a 'person' in a vampire, it doesn't stop him from planning around the presumption that they're an enemy. Meaning..."

"If a member of the Night class steps out of line," Kaien interjected over the thought, "and he gets to them first, he'll probably kill them. I see. Zero, I need you to--"

Ichiru opened the door to ringing silence. He blinked, standing in the doorway for a moment.

"I'll take care of it," Zero said, turning and beginning to push past Ichiru.

"Hold on," Ichiru grabbed him by the shoulder and brought out a carefully graphed out schedule, "are you okay with these two?"

Zero paused to look at it and said, "Hemothaumaturgy with Night and history with Day is fine. I'll probably be taking ethics under Toga, so figure out which block looks optimal if you want to take it together."

Behind his desk, Kaien Cross simply smiled.

"Kaito is going to be joining us, too, if that factors in at all," Zero added, finally breaking away from Ichiru and waving to the pair as he left. The door closed lightly behind him.

Ichiru turned back to Kaien and took a seat, his expression a muted sort of pleased. He passed the schedule information across the desk and asked, "Kaito's coming...? Sounds like the Association is doing some meddling, there."

"Ahh... you're so sharp, Ichiru!" Kaien gushed appreciatively, taking the schedule and tucking it away in the folder in front of him, "I thought you'd like the hemothaumaturgy courses. Are you putting off the biology classes for a little while?"

"Probably. I'd like to be a little more familiar with Cross Academy's teaching staff and students before getting involved in that. Not to sound elitist, but the right instructor and students will be very important to maximizing the value of that course," Ichiru said, drawing his clipboard up against his chest.

"No, no-- surveying your landscape is important, too! Now," Kaien opened a drawer and withdrew from it a paper package, small and thin. He placed it on the desk and slid it towards Ichiru, "Professor Yagari was supposed to have informed you that we might be able to improve your condition. The beginning of that is these--" He tapped the paper packet, "-- but before you open them, I need you to understand exactly what it is they are and what they do. You see... my condition is the opposite of yours. I am much more vampire-like than an ordinary hunter. Having 'excess' isn't harmful in this case, but one hypothesis about conditions like yours is that while you do not generate a normal amount of qi for a hunter, you do have the capacity to contain an ordinary amount of qi."

"These," he continued, "are for vampires. They are a form of diluted and condensed blood, which can be dissolved for consumption or simply taken directly. Their purpose is to reduce vampiric appetites and fulfill basic needs while minimizing harm. In your case, my research staff are interested in seeing whether or not supplements might improve your condition."

Ichiru blinked, slowly.

"You want me to drink blood?"

"I want," Kaien said, smiling gently, "for you to do what you feel comfortable doing. You are not obligated to use these tablets. But they are an option that is available to you, and their production doesn't hurt anyone."

Hesitantly, Ichiru picked the paper packet up. He was conflicted-- eager and angry, defiant and afraid, all at once. It was a tiny fear that won, in the end. Holding the paper packet in one hand and looking across the desk at his uncle, he asked, "Will I... still be a hunter, if I take these?"

With a look that was altogether too understanding, Kaien rose and locked the door, doubling back to seat himself next to Ichiru as they continued to talk.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Zero flipped open his pocket watch as he exited Kaien's house. The check-in period for the Night class would begin in a few hours, and he expected that they would get a little less of their students settled than the Day class had. It was almost time to rotate which gatehouses that were open, at any rate. The watch swung shut with a click. The beginning of his walk to the gatehouse was interrupted by a sudden call of, "E-excuse me, Prefect!"

He turned to see Nadeshiko running down the path from the Sun Dormitory, and paused long enough for her to catch up and catch her breath. Then he motioned for her to come with him-- and implicitly, to talk as they walked.

"U-um, well. You see, we were wondering... these new rules are very strange. We've never been forbidden from the main grounds for so long before."

Zero nodded, "Yes. That's because the new incoming class is heavily composed of the children and relatives of high-profile statesmen, industry leaders, and their close associates. While controlled exposure and inter-class interaction will be arranged, the safest thing for everybody involved is if both sets of students are not concentrated all in one place at a time."

"Oh..." Nadeshiko looked at the ground, awkwardly, but didn't break off. Looking back up, and a little more cheerfully, she asked, "Has Ichiru talked to you about our classes yet?"

"Yes. We'll be in the same History course. Is there anything else you needed, Shindo?"

Nadeshiko looked a little dejected by this implicit dismissal, but shook her head.

"Then please return to the Sun dorm, I'll be securing the gatehouse shortly," Zero said. He paused a few paces away to make certain that she'd turned around and begun the trek back, then carried on his way.

The gatehouse rattled closed behind Zero, its primary entrance locking with a heavy clank. He pocketed the heavy skeleton key and walked on, breathing deeply of the cold night air. Although he knew that he ought to go and practice, as he nearly always did around this hour, there was something that tugged at the corner of his mind for attention. It had been doing so since the previous evening, and by the time he turned and advanced down the bridge to the Moon dorm he recognized that he had already made his mind up about it as early as this morning.

The sound of a heavy lock being unlatched echoed down the bridge towards Zero. He reached the gate as it creaked open, the familiar silhouette of Yuuki Kuran stepping out into the dim lighting provided by the lamps that were set at regular intervals along the bridges.

"You look... terrible," Zero remarked.

Yuuki couldn't help but imagine Zero's approach as a little battleship sailing right up to a boat she was occupying, laying into it with a volley of cannon fire. She raised both hands to rub at her eyes, sleepiness mixing with embarrassment for how she had been the previous night. A long, frustrated groan escaped her as she trudged forward past him, making her way towards the main building. She smelled Zero falling in next to her, and turned her head ever-so-slightly to look at him.

They walked in silence until they reached the reception area. Night time porters already lingered along the drive outside, though none lingered in the indoor reception.

"I didn't sleep well," Yuuki admitted, grudgingly. Although she had ended the previous night more-or-less pleased with how they parted, it was hard to overlook that she'd been projecting _I want to eat yooooou_ vibes without realizing it for an awfully long time yesterday. The thought had her wide awake for far too long.

"Is that so," It wasn't a question. Zero stared at her flatly. He wasn't scolding her-- was that sarcasm?

"So that's the kind of sense of humor you have," she observed, sitting down on one of the long benches and looking out through the front windows. The distant gleam of headlights winding through the mountains had not yet begun, so Yuuki knew that they had plenty of time to kill. A couple of the porters came inside, drawing their coats tightly around themselves and making exaggerated shivering noises in passing as they selected seats to warm themselves.

"I don't suppose you're carrying your class schedule with you?" He asked, sitting down beside her.

Yuuki blinked rapidly, and shook her head, "No... I didn't bring much of anything, actually. Why?"

"I need to put my schedule in soon," Zero said, as if that explained it all.

It took her a moment to grasp what he was getting at. Yuuki snapped her fingers and pointed at him, "You want to sign up to the same classes?"

"Some," he said.

Yuuki made a face, a small noise of discontent humming in her throat. She leaned over and pressed a finger sharply to Zero's shoulder, "People won't know what you're thinking if you don't tell them!"

Zero looked a little conflicted about this response, but when he finally spoke again he said, "I'm committed to two classes already, which can't be reasonably modified. I would like to share one of my remaining classes with you."

"See? Just lead with that," She said. Based on the sour look that passed across Zero's features though, she doubted that he would.

It was another half hour before the first distant glimmer appeared on the horizon, soon joined by another, and another. Yuuki spent the time trying to make herself look a little more presentable, lamenting to Zero that she didn't have time to grab a nap. He departed briefly to fetch a student roster from the faculty offices, as Yuuki had forgotten to bring hers.

"Do you need me to leave?"

The question caught Yuuki off-guard. She looked at him in surprise, her doodling on the edge of the roster trailing off abruptly, leaving a line of green ink cutting through the side of the page. She chewed absentmindedly on the cap of the pen, barely aware that she was actually doing so. Soon however she ran out of time to think-- one of the cars had pulled up and the driver was already walking to the rear of the vehicle. A porter marched down the drive with a cart to help them.

In the absence of a clear answer, Zero turned to go.

"No! I mean, no. I think..." Yuuki lowered her now-indented pen, attaching it to her clipboard, "I think that it's a good idea if Dawn and Dusk students mix in the open like this. Besides, it'll take a lot less time if I have somebody helping me! Chairman Cross was supposed to, but he must have gotten side-tracked."

She glanced in the general direction of Kaien's cabin.

Zero had a sneaking suspicion that Kaien had most likely observed the both of them and decided that he would leave it to them to decide if his presence was necessary, but it was unimportant. The point was, the Chairman wasn't here.

They walked out into the cold night to meet the first arrival.

The young lady out on the drive was sickly pale, not in the manner that was ordinary for a vampire. Her figure was slight, and she already wore a Cross Academy uniform, though a heavy coat concealed much of it. She did not look well at all, but she waved when she saw uniformed people coming.

Yuuki was the one to take charge, greeting the girl enthusiastically before Zero was even within earshot. A nervous introduction was the first thing that Zero heard-- and her name. He flipped through their clipboard to the student roster, and saw a boldly-printed note attached to her entry.

"We can wait for her belongings inside. Come on," Zero interrupted, gruffly. In spite of the way he'd done it, Yuuki and the girl followed him into the reception area. He paused there and said, "According to our notes Miss Kurenai, you need a bit of special accommodation. Do you need something to drink right away, or are you feeling alright?"

The question elicited an embarrassed look from Maria. It couldn't have been plainer that this wasn't how she wanted to be thought of at Cross Academy. She shook her head, "I ate before we left, thank you."

He nodded.

"I'm Maria Kurenai," She introduced herself.

"Zero Kiryu."

"Kiryu? Then you're..."

Yuuki interjected quickly, "He's one of the Dawn class prefects! I was tired, so he offered to help me out with getting the Night class situated."

Zero and Maria looked at one another.

Vampires and Hunters do not evaluate each other quite like humans do.

To Zero Kiryu there was a momentary pulse as he swept his sixth sense towards Maria. The weight of her presence reminded him, above all else, of Ichiru. It was thin and faltering, intensifying and receding like the beat of a drum, or a heartbeat. He had never encountered a vampire who suffered such a condition, though even in those circumstances he could tell that Maria shined brighter than his brother. She had a little extra. Insignificant by the standards of nobility, but any vampire of lower birth would still envy whatever special ability she could use. As threats went, though, she simply wasn't one.

Maria, for her part, sniffed lightly at the air. The same oil-and-metal scent that Yuuki experienced lingered on the surface, but what it gave way to for her was quite different. It was like she was walking through a grand conservatory, and all around her were plants of all kinds, each with their unique scents-- only the most fragrant broke through the mix. It was a pleasant smell, and powerful too. She imagined that he would taste like sweet sap, or nectar. It was a pleasing scent, but not her favorite.

She smiled, and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Zero."

Just before the porters led her away with her cart, Zero made what Maria thought was an affirmative noise-- but when she looked back he had already turned his attention towards the cars arriving outside.

The first was more of a limousine than it was an ordinary vehicle, and several figures stepped out of it before their driver could even make his way to the rear door.

Senri and Rima were dressed in heavy winter clothing, their outfits matching. Yuuki wondered if they came here after some event or another, because it looked like a sort of unconventionally themed wardrobe, with an unusual cut. Nothing that was in the wild right now, anyway. The third figure that stepped out was Takuma Ichijo, who took notice of Yuuki immediately and waved at her.

"Hey! Where's Hanabusa?" Yuuki called down the lane, waving as she did.

Zero marked the arrivals on the roster and strode out with Yuuki to meet the party of three.

Senri was the one to answer Yuuki's question, his voice dull and distant, "Aido is coming with Kain. They were running a little behind, because Aido is bringing some fresh supplies for the labs. Something about accelerated production."

"They want to make sure there's enough to go around," Rima clarified.

"Ohh! That'll be a big help. This is--" Yuuki exclaimed, gesturing towards Zero.

"Zero Kiryu," he finished Yuuki's sentence for her.

They all fell silent.

Takuma Ichijo was the one to break the silence, smiling and stepping forward to extend a hand towards Zero, "Ah well, there's no need for things to be any more awkward than we make them. Takuma Ichijo, and I look forward to getting to know you better, Mr. Kiryu. Thank you for supporting our Princess."

Zero shook Takuma's hand, and in the moment at least the tension broke. The group broke apart in a flurry of chatter and movement, trunks being relocated, campus maps being consulted, with the tiniest bit of business mixed in for good measure.

A few more cars came, but the remaining nobles that Yuuki was expecting never appeared. Soon the check-in period had ended, and the front gate was closed for the night.

Tonight, there was no pause at the fork between Sun and Moon Dorms. When Zero turned, Yuuki followed, and they only came to a halt once they were in front of his door. He turned to face her, bleary-eyed and weary, but reasonably good at concealing it.

"Thank you," Yuuki said, bringing her hands together absentmindedly, "for coming back onto reception duty with me."

She paused for a moment, and then tentatively continued, "There's something I'd like to ask you. In private, please."

It was trouble, not danger, that Zero sensed in agreeing to this, but he was too tired to argue much. He gestured her inside, a piece of brass rattling to the floor as they entered. He picked it up and pocketed it for the moment-- he could replace it on the door frame later. His jacket was haphazardly discarded on a well-worn wooden chair that he assumed had been in here for ages, and he'd begun to loosen his tie by the time she asked her question.

"Why were you so calm the other night? When I..." Yuuki trailed away. An explanation wasn't needed.

Zero grunted. He was too worn out to tell that story tonight, and even if he had the physical energy, he doubted he had the emotional energy. But she continued to look at him expectantly, and he didn't want to send her away feeling miserable. He replied, "I know a vampire with bloodied eyes is dangerous. Even so, they were still your eyes."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Across the hall, Ichiru stood at his door. It was held just the tiniest bit open, and one eye was trained upon the scene in the hallway. As they retreated into Zero's room he muttered to himself, "H-he still managed to do more work anyway..."


	5. Bite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zero Kiryu makes an example, Ichiru finds a kindred spirit, and Yuuki addresses a serious problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Content Warning** : Light blood / violence, sexually suggestive.

* * *

Zero woke to an angry knock at his door, too few hours after he had drifted off to sleep. He was half-dressed, his unbuttoned shirt twisted uncomfortably in the manner that clothes could only manage if somebody was foolish enough to sleep in them. The presence behind the door felt human to him, not even the distant trace of pulsing power like Ichiru had. His instincts told him that he didn't need to worry about whoever that was. Having run himself ragged the previous night, he decided to ignore it.

The knocking resumed, this time turning to more of a heavy beating. He opened his eyes.

One, two--

 **BANG BANG BANG**.

He got up and walked to the door, waiting.

**BANG--**

In the instant that the person on the other side of the door raised their hand to strike a second time, Zero opened the door.

Kasumi Kageyama just barely stopped short of hitting Zero in the chest. He was surrounded by a small group of others -- it looked like around five of the class Presidents, including Shindo lingering at the back trying to make herself look small. The rest jumped back in surprise at the suddenness of Zero's appearance.

Zero said nothing, merely looking at Kasumi expectantly.

Regaining his courage, Kasumi straightened up and said, "Mr. Kiryu! You can't just bring girls into your room at all hours, especially not Night class girls!"

There was a murmur of agreement.

"I see," Zero said. His eye caught a flicker of movement across the hall. Through the tiniest of cracks, Ichiru and Zero's eyes met for a moment.

"So... you won't--" Kasumi began, expecting some sort of affirmative answer.

"Kageyama," Zero interrupted. He sized the crowd up in front of him. Shindo wasn't about to pull this on her own, two were serious-looking girls he didn't know, and the third looked more confident but smaller than Kasumi. As it happened, the best example had made himself obvious from the start.

"H-huh?"

"Do you know how many nerve endings there are in the human ear?"

Kasumi looked confused, until Zero seized him by the earlobe and pushed out into the corridor. The group parted around him, small vocalizations of surprise momentarily dominating the corridor, with Shindo covering her mouth with her right hand.

"O-ow, ow, Mr. Kiryu--" Kasumi protested, but didn't have the strength or leverage to get loose or do anything about his predicament.

Zero stopped once Kasumi's difficulty was sufficiently visible to his satisfaction, and then turned his attention towards the remaining four students. He said, "I'll make this brief. I'm not here to win popularity contests, and my role requires that I do not operate under the same restrictions that you do. If you have a complaint, submit it in writing to Chairman Cross."

Without another word he dragged Kasumi -- carefully, because Zero didn't want to ACTUALLY hurt him -- back to his room. By then the noise had caused other students to begin looking out in the corridor, most bleary-eyed and annoyed, some already (or, rarely, simply still) wide awake and amused.

He returned to his own room in short order, pausing to look across the hall at Ichiru.

"... Save the 'I-told-you-so' for when I'm awake," Zero said, before Ichiru could say anything.

Ichiru snorted in amusement, but shut his door in assent.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The daylight hours came and went without further incident, apart from moderate staring and murmuring surrounding the Kiryu twins. Zero was astonished at how rapidly it spread through the final wave of Day class students-- excepting Kaito, whose absence was suspicious to both of them. It was, of course, like Kaito to time his appearance with a great deal of care, but it had nothing to do with making a dramatic appearance.

Rather, it was the opposite: Making as quiet an entrance as possible at precisely the correct time to put his finger on the scale.

"... Zero, do I have to come with you tonight?" Ichiru complained, as they walked to the Moon dorm's gatehouse.

"You can leave once she's given you her schedule. She'd like our classes to overlap as much as possible, and we have too much of that going on for me to keep track of," Zero replied.

But Ichiru sighed, and shook his head, "No... I want to see a little of what's so alluring about her to you."

Zero stopped, frowning at Ichiru. This was a very strange rationale, since Ichiru only knew Yuuki a little less well than he did-- especially since he was just complaining about having to come.

"Wouldn't you want to do the same for me?" Ichiru asked.

"Well..." Zero was, after all, concerned for his brother's well-being. But he didn't distrust his judgment in selecting friends, either.

Before Zero could complete his thought, Ichiru decided, "Then it's settled."

Not inclined to argue with him just now, Zero simply carried on down the bridge.

They met Yuuki at the Moon dorm gatehouse. Her eyes darted towards Ichiru, and although she tried to hide it, her heart sank a little. She knew he didn't like her, and now he was going to help with the last wave of Night class students? What would they think about that when they found out? She chewed on her lip as she thought. That could be trouble. If there was one thing Kaname was right about, it was that the people around them were attracted to their magnetism and would get caught up in it. Somebody who was perceived to be picking on her could be in for a real bad time. 

Should she send him away under a pretense? Just be honest about why? Or just let it be?

"Hello, Ms. Kuran," Ichiru greeted her, genially.

"How many do we still have to go?" Zero asked, foregoing greetings altogether. For once Yuuki appreciated his bluntness, because it drew her out of an awkward thought spiral.

"About a dozen, but most of them will be arriving in groups so they shouldn't be too spaced out," Yuuki said, pushing the gatehouse door open and leading the way towards the main campus. She continued, "We've got two siblings and three of their cousins, Aido and Kain, three nobles whose names I can't quite place, and I think that might be it but Chairman Cross has had to add a couple of more names to the list each night now so I've been assuming it'll be two more than I expect unless I see otherwise."

They arrived at reception. Yuuki stretched lightly as she went to look out the window. Her breath fogged the glass momentarily, but there were no lights in the distance just now. She hadn't expected anybody to be too 'early'. They were traveling in groups, so it made sense that it would take longer just to get started.

"Well," she turned and selected a single armchair against the wall, "it looks like we've got a little while. Um... so, Ichiru, what classes--"

"Ah! That's right. Zero told me to collate several classes together to coordinate some overlap with you," Ichiru interrupted, fishing a slip of paper out of his pocket. He passed it off to Yuuki before seating himself opposite her on an ornate wooden couch with red upholstery.

Zero moved to the side of Yuuki's chair to examine the schedule, but before he had the chance to look at it all three of them froze.

To the Hunter Twins the change in the atmosphere was more abstract. A silhouette of qi began to gleam in the distance, while an already much more dim figure began to lose radiance little by little. They knew that a vampire -- not one of great power -- was feeding off of what seemed to be a human.

Yuuki on the other hand smelled the shedding of warm blood-- the only exposed blood anywhere nearby. She had been living off of the tablets for the last little while, and while the person who had just been bitten did not smell particularly appetizing to her, it was still enough to stir feelings of hunger within her. It made her imagine a much more wonderful feast she could be partaking of. She closed her eyes and dispersed into a cloud of butterflies, which went scattering towards the scent of blood.

Zero was already moving. Faster than believable, faster than life. Ichiru sprang up and followed.

The scene unfolded along the lake the Chairman's house was built next to. In a cluster of trees and bushes that permitted access to the waterfront that was difficult to observe from either side -- only truly visible from the opposite bank or by approaching it from farther inland -- one of the younger Day class boys had set up with a fishing rod and a blanket. Exactly when he had made contact with a member of the Night class was not obvious, but a young lady in a Night class uniform was cuddled up against him, his jacket draped over her shoulders.

At that exact moment the situation looked... not innocent, but not so out of the ordinary as to warrant great concern.

Claudia had long, dark, curly hair that fell to her mid-back. Like any vampire she had an otherworldly beauty to her, a casual perfection that made it hard to look at her and not be drawn in. Presently she looked mildly rumpled, with tousled hair that hinted at what had led to her feeding. Kichirou was tall, fair-skinned, and had messy short blonde hair-- he looked nice, though it wasn't with the effortlessness of his would-be lover. Puncture marks against his neck were preceded by fresh love bites, and the front of both their shirts had droplets of blood along them.

Kichirou had a dazed look to him-- as if he was entranced. He wasn't quite weak enough to just fall over, but he wasn't all there either. He didn't react when Yuuki emerged in a flurry of butterflies or when, an instant later, Zero cleared the trees and landed next to them in a crouch.

Despite arriving a heartbeat later, Zero was the first to act. He dragged Claudia off of Kichirou one-handed, eliciting first a surprised squeak and then an angry noise. Her fingernails began to elongate into claws--

" **Stop** ," Yuuki said, with the full weight of her presence pressed into her words.

Unable to mount the slightest resistance, Claudia lowered her hands and went limp-- relaxed. Zero raised her by the back of her uniform like a scruffed kitten, tossing Kichirou's jacket back on the ground.

"The amount taken so far was within safe tolerances," Zero said, his senses trained firmly upon Kichirou in the moment.

Absent the ability to do anything about her predicament, Claudia merely licked her lips. She knew she was in trouble-- she wasn't sure how much, exactly. But she thought that if the hunter suspending her hadn't shot her on contact, she'd probably be okay. Maybe be able to sneak off and do it again once she'd been lying low for long enough.

"Feeding on Day class students is strictly forbidden," Zero said.

"Really? He seemed okay with it," Claudia replied, though she knew she was pushing her luck, even if it was true. She was still intoxicated by Kichirou's blood, which had been too tempting not to try to coax out of him. The smell of him was positively divine to her-- his surface scent was like soil and grass sprinkled with morning dew, but his blood had the quality of hot fudge. She loved sweets, and up until this day she had never been tempted by blood so tailored to her tastes.

Zero looked at Yuuki.

Yuuki stepped over to Kichirou. She wasn't used to memory erasure yet, but she was familiar enough with it that she could edit something like this enough. She crouched down and looked him in the eyes for a long, long moment. To the outside nothing seemed to happen, until finally Kichirou's eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

"Zero, please take him back to the Sun dorm. He'll remember a little bit of this, but not... most... of the bitey parts," She made a sour face. Editing somebody's memories required looking at them, and while she didn't begrudge anybody their private time with one another, she would've preferred not being a part of it.

Zero nodded and set Claudia down, picking up Kichirou and heading off towards the Sun dorms with him.

Claudia, still under Yuuki's command, just looked up at her. She shivered slightly, fully aware of what the Princess was capable of-- not that it mattered in the moment. Now that they were alone, though, she wasn't certain what might happen to her. To her surprise however, Yuuki sat down next to her.

"He must have smelled really nice to you," Yuuki observed.

Claudia nodded. That was perfectly true. After a moment she said, "Like hot chocolate."

Yuuki laughed. It was unusual for one vampire to tell another exactly how somebody smelled to them. That, too, was intimate knowledge. She didn't know if it was her presence or simply an expectation that honesty would yield better results than anything else from this chat, but she still appreciated the trust that it implied.

She preferred to think of it as trust, instead of fear.

"So do you like each other, or was this just a..." Yuuki raised her hands in an exaggerated clawlike gesture, baring her fangs for an instant before dropping the expression altogether.

"Um, well..." Claudia had to think about that. The truth was that she wasn't sure. She leaned back against the blanket, looking up at the night sky. After a while she said, "He came out here to do some fishing. I guess it was something he did in a previous term? I'd decided to take a walk, and I happened to smell him while I walked the edge of the lake. We talked for a little while, but it wasn't that long..."

Yuuki nodded and drew her knees up to her chest. She asked, "But you enjoyed each other's company? You had fun? Um, not... that kind of fun, before that."

"Yeah. I think so," Claudia agreed.

"I thought so. Listen, Claudia..." Yuuki looked at Claudia very seriously, "if things go okay here for a while, we might not have to be so strict in the future. If that happens, it might not be so strange for a vampire and a human to do what you did. But right now, it's dangerous. I want you to be able to have what you had, but I can't let you do it until there's a better relationship of trust. Until then, no matter how tempting it is, I need you not to feed from the human students. Even if you think it's okay. Even if they tell you it's okay. Term isn't even started, and I need you -- all of you -- to try harder than this."

Heaving a great sigh, she added, "And I definitely know how you feel. The substitute doesn't taste good and there are opportunities all around. So please try harder for me?"

Claudia smiled, rather miserably, and nodded. She said, "Okay, Princess. For you."

"Okay! Well, I can't let you do something like that without being reprimanded or things will spiral out of control. So you're going to be confined to the Moon dorm until term starts. Come on, let's get you back..." Yuuki said, and together they headed back towards the Moon dorm.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Ichiru ran out of breath by the time he reached the Moon dorm's front gate. He didn't have the stamina to make the leap over it into the woods, or keep pace with his brother from there. He leaned heavily against the wall, panting and mentally berating himself for not having the strength to carry on.

"Excuse me..." Maria Kurenai had just come out of the Moon dorms, and stood in the gateway watching Ichiru.

For the briefest of instants, Ichiru was shocked to panic. He whirled about, but as he did so he realized that he had not noticed this vampire-- not because she had tried to sneak up on him, but because she was weak. The silhouette of her qi was dim, more comparable to his own than to another of his kind.

She took a defensive step back, eyes flicking towards the hilt of Ichiru's sword.

Ichiru's thumb rested against the guard, raising the weapon ever-so-slightly from its sheath. His hand hovered over the hilt, but he didn't grab it. Slowly, reluctantly, he eased the weapon back into its sheath with a quiet clink. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, steadying his breathing and trying to get the beating of his heart under control.

Maria relaxed a little, but did not approach him. She asked, "Are you okay?"

He waved a hand dismissively, but did not answer her.

"You're not Zero. Are you brothers?" Maria probed, taking a half-step forward.

Ichiru opened his eyes at the sound of her movement, but did not take a defensive posture again. He replied, "Yes. I'm Ichiru."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ichiru. I'm Maria Kurenai," Maria said, advancing just a little bit more.

He stared at her, but he didn't quite have the sorts of death glares in him that his brother did. More than that, even if he did, Ichiru wouldn't have had the energy to muster one just now. Slowly, he slid the sheath out of his belt and slid down the wall, seating himself before he dared to blink.

"Is there anything I can do?" Maria asked.

It was tempting to snap at her. If it had been Zero, Ichiru definitely would've had a biting retort. But he didn't have the familiarity necessary to find anything to grab onto. With a miserable, exasperated sigh, he replied, "A little water would help."

Maria smiled, and went back into the Moon dorm. When she returned she handed it to him, and walked about a yard to his side before sitting down against the wall and laying a parasol across her lap.

"Thank you," Ichiru said, grudgingly.

Maria answered with a hummed _Mmhm_! And continued to look out across the bridge.

They sat there for an awfully long time before they spoke again. For Ichiru the tension of vitality flowing from one person to another lifted slowly, and for Maria the smell of blood grew muted and distant.

"Why did you stop to help me?"

Maria looked at him, her smile wavering.

"Promise not to get mad?"

Ichiru sipped at the water Maria had just given him, steadying himself a little, and said, "I promise."

"I know how it feels to be weak, Mr. Kiryu," Maria said, matter-of-factly.

Ichiru didn't know what to say to that. He was accustomed to being treated in a patronizing way, and had not yet found himself in a situation where he was speaking to somebody who lived with complications like he did. Usually, he was angry about that.

"You can call me Ichiru," He replied.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

It was another hour of wrangling the reaction of the Sun and Moon dorms before Zero and Yuuki were able to break away to report to Kaien, and another hour to brief him on the situation. By the time they had wrapped it all up, the porters had attended to the remaining Night class students-- which Aido and Kain had not been among, they noted. This was well past the time and date at which that pair was supposed to arrive.

After they meandered back to the fork in the bridges, Yuuki soon found herself sprawled in the grass between the fork, with Zero seated next to her. They hadn't said anything -- well, Zero not saying much was nothing new -- to one another since they left the company of the porters. She looked over at him searchingly.

Zero had his eyes closed. She couldn't tell if he was focusing on something -- that famous sixth sense of hunters -- or if he was just tired.

Yuuki reached over to tap him against his leg and asked, "Zero... What did you think of what happened tonight? You were really gentle with Claudia. I thought..." She paused. What did she think? She knew of violent hunters, but truthfully Zero had not been among them, "I don't know. That you'd be more stern?"

He glanced her way. She knew it would take him a while to formulate a response-- it nearly always seemed to. But tonight Yuuki was to be surprised.

"I expected the first incident to be messier, and less innocent," Zero said.

"Like... a plot? Somebody trying to cause problems on purpose?"

He nodded, an affirmative vocalization rumbling in his throat.

"But it wasn't," Zero went on, "it was ordinary. We're going to have to be more strict with the Day class students wandering around at night or this is going to happen again soon. Right now that's fine, but the other hunters that are coming probably won't be as lenient as I am."

"Professor Yagari? I know he's harsh, but uncle always seemed to think he'd be fair..." Yuuki replied.

"Toga won't kill anybody needlessly, but he's a rough teacher. And he'll definitely try to provoke people to see how it goes. 'Harsh but fair' is an accurate description. But there's another hunter coming that Chairman Cross warned me about," Zero said. He took a breath and continued, "He's one of my friends, but he's a lot more hardline for reasons that aren't mine to tell you. And 'entrapment' is his primary strategy. He won't hurt somebody for no reason, but he'll give them opportunities to give him an excuse."

"But if somebody gets hurt because I asked them to be here--" Yuuki began.

"I'll be trying to keep an eye on him. Keep your people in line and it'll be fine," Zero interrupted.

Yuuki made a noise that was intended to be assent, but mostly came out as a concerned hum. She asked, "But you don't think what they did was that bad by itself?"

Zero shrugged, "They were snogging. What they did is a problem because of the circumstances, assuming that girl was telling the truth, not because the act itself is an issue. It's not like we break down doors every time we notice somebody's qi waver from losing a pint of blood. Vampires have relationships with humans all the time."

"O-oh. I hadn't thought about that..." Yuuki said, averting her face so that the rapid reddening of her cheeks wouldn't be visible.

"I'm going to go check on Ichiru," Zero said, getting up. He offered her a hand up and asked, "Target practice in an hour?"

Yuuki beamed at Zero and took his hand, getting to her feet with a light grunt. She nodded enthusiastically, "I'll be there!"


	6. Before The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rido Kuran makes a choice, Yuuki and Zero travel to the site of a hunt, and a spy is caught.

* * *

How long had it been? Rido couldn't quite recall the last time that he used the manor 'upstairs' as a home. It was the outer wall of his prison, and he resented it no less than any other part. But it was where he had lived with his parents, and siblings, for the longest of time. He turned over in bed and looked up at the ceiling.

No matter how it deteriorated in the present, it was hard to see anything but the world that was. Occasionally, he even longed for it-- for his parents, and yes, even for his siblings. Even for insufferable Haruka. The canopy of his bed had not decayed to dust and tatters-- heavy red-and-gold curtains surrounded him, shutting out the sunlight a second time over if the curtains on the windows should happen not to be enough.

He breathed in the world around him, and remembered.

His brother had lived across the hall, their sister at the end of it. Their parents occupied the opposite wing of the house, and when they held court it took place in the central parlors and halls. Each denizen of the Kuran manor had their own smell, and each was pleasing in its own way.

Yuto Kuran, their father, had the subtle spicy-sweetness of a redwood forest. He radiated strength and authority, though his manner was mild.

His brother Haruka smelled of fruit, though as they aged he remembered that the sweetness of grapes and bananas had given way to the sharp bitter tanginess of lemons, limes, and oranges. It was not without its merits, of course, but it required certain approaches to appreciate.

Then there was Juri. It was hard for Rido to pin down what Juri smelled like over the years; not because the memory was not vivid to him, but because it changed in his mind quite a lot. But never did she smell anything less than divine, perfect. The things that he smelled on her were not things that a human could coherently taste-- it was like smelling the idea of being welcome, or wanted. A crackling hearth in a cozy home, a warm blanket on a winter night, sunlight shining down on your skin on a spring day, a hug from somebody whose affection is important to you.

"Perfect," Rido whispered to himself, "perfect."

That loving nature had drawn him in and ensorcelled him. Yes, he adored it, but it was not his way. Eventually the time would come that his father would pass his rule to him, and Rido comported himself appropriately. But he did not have the kindness or mildness of his siblings. He grew angry easily-- the smell of blood inflamed him worse than it inflamed most of their kind. Even lowly servants of their kind thirsted with greater restraint than he, and they were tormented more cruelly than any who had not been born with these impulses.

The door opened. Rido opened his eyes slowly and waited for whoever it was to say their piece.

Elizabeth stood in the doorway, holding an opened letter in her hands. She said, "Lord Rido, we have news from Councilman Aido."

Rido made a noise that Elizabeth understood was an indication to continue.

"The senate's hemothaumaturges have analyzed your bindings, and determined their nature. It would appear as if they were designed with a release mechanism, but each of them requires the 'input' of a member of your family. Furthermore, they are a united array and check against one another..." Elizabeth continued down the letter, "which is to say that they **each** require a unique input. One binding per unique family member. Although that is problematic, we believe that at least one key will be relatively accessible in the near future. So the Councilman wishes to know which of your bindings should be broken first."

"The Binding of Plurality," Rido growled. If he did not have to be singular anymore, then the others would not matter as much. He could remain safe in this place while dispatching familiars to deliver his commands-- or provide him an avenue through which to possess his descendants, as the case may be. It's all he would need, for now.

The Binding of Mortality could wait.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Yuuki woke the next night to the arrival of a sleepy and aggravated-looking Hanabusa accompanied by a... typically aloof but still distantly weary-looking Akatsuki. She stood at her door as she watched them file past into their shared room, tempted to ask for an explanation but not sure it was the best idea just now.

Akatsuki Kain paused just before disappearing and looked towards Yuuki. Without prompting he explained, "Mechanical trouble, followed by complications with the equipment. It's not urgent, so we'll elaborate tomorrow."

Yuuki smiled and nodded, vocalizing a vaguely dreamy affirmative. She retreated back into her room to get ready for the night. There was not much to be done today other than submit her final class schedule, so she was in no hurry.

After a long, luxurious soak to try to coax out the lingering tension from the previous day, Yuuki made her way out to the gatehouse and unlocked it. To her surprise, both Zero and Kaien were waiting for her there. She blinked owlishly at them as she left the gate open behind her for the night's through traffic.

"Did something happen?" Yuuki asked, worriedly.

"Ah, well, it's not something that 'did' happen but something that 'will' happen," Kaien said in a rapid, nervous voice. He tugged and twisted on a spotted handkerchief that Yuuki was quite certain he kept more as a prop rather than because he actually used it for any other purpose.

Zero, who had grown instantly impatient with this act, explained, "There is a Level E problem down in town. We've been asked to provide back up to Junior Associate Takamiya, and to give him a ride up to the school."

"And he requested my darling niece and nephew by name!" Kaien exclaimed, attempting to draw Yuuki and Zero together in a group hug.

They both stepped out of Kaien's reach, causing him to stumble forward slightly-- and recover, straightening up and clearing his throat. More seriously, he said, "This is probably a test by the Association... or by Mr. Takamiya himself, so I need you to try to fulfill his request to the best of your ability."

"You want us to... kill a vampire?" Yuuki asked, her eyes widening.

"Level E. It's a feral," Zero explained to Yuuki. He raised a hand to tap two fingers against his temple, "They still exist up here, but they're not in the driver's seat anymore. It's a miserable existence."

Yuuki made a noise of discontent and drew her arms around herself, looking down at the bridge.

Kaien stepped close to Yuuki, patting her affectionately on the head. He said, "You don't have to be able to do it the first time you encounter a situation like this, Yuuki. A lot of young hunters have to fall back during their first hunt. And if you're very, very lucky... it'll turn out to be a false positive, and you'll get to save somebody instead."

A few minutes later, Yuuki and Zero reached the garages.

There was a moment of hesitation before Zero asked, "Do you prefer driving yourself?"

"U-um, actually..." Yuuki snapped out of her gloom, an embarrassed look flashing across her features, "I've always been driven everywhere I needed to go, so I don't..."

Zero nodded and took the driver's side. As he climbed into the car, he added, "I'll teach you later."

They sat in silence for a short while down the drive before Yuuki asked, hopefully, "Does the Association make mistakes about vampires being feral a lot?"

Zero adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and cracked the window. It was a tricky question to answer. He said, "More commonly, somebody has tampered with our records to get an enemy who isn't actually feral killed. But sometimes it's a stabilized former human who lost control for a little while but was mistaken for feral. And sometimes the Hunter who made the call is simply prejudiced and didn't do the work properly."

Taking a deep breath, Zero continued, "A part of the job is ascertaining the condition of the target. Toga taught us strict vigilance, not hatred. Even Kaito would be disgusted to be tricked into killing somebody who had committed no violence."

"Do you think... he's counting on a Pureblood to be able to make determining what's going on easier?" Yuuki asked, looking towards Zero curiously.

"Maybe. Do you object?" He replied.

Yuuki made a sour face, but shook her head, "No. It's just... you know what my family's like. I'm powerful, but I've never been in a real fight. I've never seen somebody die. Not even a 'feral'."

"... It's fine. Once we determine the disposition of the target, you can hang back," Zero reassured her.

Yuuki shook her head, "They're still my people, and I'm responsible for them. I can't just cover my eyes and pretend it isn't happening. The least I can do is... remember that they existed, once."

Zero hummed affirmatively.

"Zero? Have you ever..."

His grip tightened on the steering wheel. There was a woman, familiar, warm-- and suddenly something entirely different, altogether other had replaced her. Claws flashed, a streak of scarlet soared through the air. In spite of her advantage, the crack of a gunshot soon turned her to crystal and dust.

"Yeah."

Yuuki reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. She could feel him tense-- not just at the point of contact, but across his entire body. It was the same sort of reaction that he had when she reached for him during the party, only this time he was cornered-- so he **had** to have the discipline not to crash.

"It's okay," she reassured him, "It's okay. I'm sorry. It must have been..."

The tension in him wound down, but it was deliberate, practiced, almost unnatural. Like somebody easing the hammer of a revolver back down after cocking it for firing. Zero was silent for a time, during which Yuuki wasn't entirely sure whether this was one of his usual extended pauses or a lack of inclination to keep talking at all. She thought it must be the former, though-- he hadn't so much as tried shrugging her hand off.

"Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault," he broke the silence, dully.

Yuuki withdrew her hand and nodded, turning her attention to the passenger side window.

"What can you do in a fight?" Zero asked, after a while.

"U-um, well..." Yuuki was a very physical person, but she never felt the need to take self-defense courses or anything like that. She had bodyguards when she was younger, unnecessary as they were. So the truth was, "I'm psychokinetic, so I can sort of fire bullets of force at things or manipulate them from a distance. But I've never needed to fight, and I've never taken lessons."

"Don't worry about being untrained. Not being able to be killed by your opponent lets you make mistakes," Zero said, gesturing loosely with the index finger of his right hand.

"Do you want to learn?"

"Yes!" Yuuki answered, enthusiastically. She hesitated, and added, "Not because I want to fight like a hunter. It just sounds fun to me, and if it helps me in the future than that's even better."

"We'll start..." Zero hesitated a little to evaluate his expectations. He couldn't imagine that today was going to be easy, even if the feral was a cut-and-dry case. He decided, "in the next couple of days. Depending on how things go I might need some downtime."

Yuuki beamed at him.

"What about you, Zero?" She asked.

Zero made a questioning noise.

"I know you're a marksman. Is that the only way you fight?"

"Well... I'm going to be teaching you close quarters fighting, so no. My style emphasizes the use of a firearm and either an empty hand or a knife. My bonded weapon is a gun, though, so I have to prioritize it for actually inflicting finishing strikes," Zero replied, shrugging lightly.

"Hmm... but can't aristocrats and commoners suffer fatal injuries without a hunter weapon?" Yuuki wondered.

"Development of means always boils down to finding the easiest way to put down your opponent. If you bisected a Level E it would die, but a bonded weapon's impact spreads farther than the direct point of contact and inhibits recuperation across the entire body unless certain circumstances give the affected vampire a boost. In other words..." Zero turned along the winding road, leaning into it reflexively, "you're not wrong, but it's so much more difficult that we don't use that sort of method outside of an emergency. There's a reason that you don't hear about us arming teams of ordinary humans with submachine guns. Not only would we lose them, even a feral can bounce back from a lot of trauma if it's allowed to exsanguinate someone fully after receiving otherwise mortal wounds."

Yuuki frowned, looking closely at Zero's face and posture. Slowly, she said, "You... talk a lot easier about this than most things, Zero."

The corners of Zero's lips tugged into the faintest of smiles. He replied, "That's because a lot of what we talk about lives in the heart, Yuuki. If you ask me for help with homework, I'll lecture just as easily."

The sight of Zero's smile drew a reciprocal smile out of Yuuki at once. She said, "It seems to me like you're going to be teaching me an awful lot. Would you, umm... like to learn how to rock climb some night? Or..."

"Yeah," Zero said.

 _Already back to the curt responses_ , Yuuki thought. She reached over to nudge him playfully in the shoulder with her fist, pouting a little, "How is that a heart thing? You could at least get a little bit excited..."

But that wasn't Zero's way. He ran his left hand through his hair and remained silent for an awkwardly long time, trying to sort out exactly what it was he felt, and of those things that he felt, what he should actually say. When at last he angled his head a little in Yuuki's direction, though, she knew she was about to get an answer.

"It's not that I hate the idea, but when you ask a question like that I'm not answering for the activity. The question I'm really answering is, 'Would you like to spend time with me?'. And I do," He said.

"O-oh..." Yuuki turned to look out her window again. She could feel blood and heat rushing into her face, and she wasn't particularly keen on sharing that involuntary reaction more than she absolutely had to.

Whether it was awkwardness or his own inclination towards silence, Zero allowed the conversation to lapse. The lights of the town glimmered and sparkled in the distance, close enough to feel only a few steps away while still being a good leg of time away.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

A few hours previously, Kaname Kuran had bid farewell to Kain and Aido. A part of him daydreamed distantly of the sight of the pair of them climbing into their car and beginning the road trip up into the hills towards Cross Academy. The smell of them lingered near at hand, though they had gone quite some time ago. 

Kaname was a little different from most vampires, when it came to scent. To him, everyone smelled almost -- almost, but not quite -- the same. To him, each and every person in the world smelled like water. The scent and taste of water are subtle, though anyone would be able to tell you there was a difference from one region and source to the next. Sometimes there was a difference in temperature, or even state.

In the case of Aido and Kain the smell was like ice cubes and a hot spring. One light and crisp but very localized, and the other heavy and lingering, with more spread. He regretted not asking one of them for a drink before they left-- though he knew it was liable to be taken the wrong way, if he had. Few vampires had the same outlook on feeding as he did.

The building he occupied resembled any research facility. Public front offices, banal and uninteresting, were cordoned off from airlock-protected laboratories tucked deeper into the building. Special authentication or entry methods were necessary to gain access. The Aidou family owned this building, and had prototyped the process of manufacturing the pills so vital to Kaien's project here. Until just a few hours ago, it was also where the release version of the mixer was housed-- though the original prototype remained, disassembled in archive.

Kaname was here because he knew somebody was coming to steal it. He had not been tipped off, but it was quite simple. By now competing interests would be probing for gaps in Kaien's armor, something that would let them sabotage his project. This was the biggest gap at this exact moment, and too many people were involved in its development. There were many opportunities for the secret to slip.

The lab around him was pitch black. Closing time had come, and gone. Maintenance had passed by, but he had robbed them of all memory of his presence. It was better if fewer people knew he had been here. As for his certainty though... he had already disrupted the transfer of the device by a sufficient amount of time that whoever might have been planning an ambush would now be exploring a Plan B.

Sure enough, there was a subtle buzz as the airlock cycled once, twice-- and a figure emerged through the doors. The man was dressed to fit into the environment-- or, more likely, to look natural entering the building on the street. There was a certain deliberate plainness to his appearance-- short brown hair, a neatly-trimmed beard, brown eyes, average height. The smell of him was unremarkable to Kaname-- clear and clean, almost invisible. More importantly, he was a human.

But Kaname could tell that he didn't belong. The man moved through in the dark, not flipping any lightswitches, not trying to hide but clearly unfamiliar with where he was and where he needed to be. The instant the man stepped in front of the lab Kaname was hiding in, he found himself abruptly seized by psychokinetic forces. He began to rotate in place, invisible force turning his face so that Kaname could examine it.

"I don't know you," Kaname observed.

The man said nothing.

Kaname rotated the man a few times more, giving him a thorough once-over. He was definitely human-- lightly armed, too. It wasn't a weapon that posed a threat to Kaname, but it would've helped evade most of the employees of this place. Even against Aido or Kain, it could buy a little space. But it was best to leave it.

"How very unfortunate," Kaname talked more to himself than anyone else, rising from his seat and walking further into the building, the suspended man bobbing up and down at his side, "if you had been a vampire to begin with this would be much more simple."

He swiped a keycard, causing another airlock-style set of doors to cycle. The interior of this airlock was a set of decontamination showers, one lined up next to the other. Large drains dominated the floor.

A look of realization passed across the man's face. He began to struggle, violently, against the force that held him in place-- but it was no use. Kaname walked casually from showerhead to showerhead, twisting the valves that would turn them on. A steady mist began to fall into the decontamination room.

"The point of no return was when you walked through the first secure doors," Kaname situated the man below one of the showerheads and carefully removed his lab coat, tie, and button-down shirt underneath. With a heavy sigh, he concluded, "I suppose it can't be helped."

Kaname leaned forward and sank his fangs into the man's neck. Memories began to race through his mind-- a family, of course. Someone... teaching? Giving instructions? The man's panicked thrashing and lack of focus was muddying things. He supposed it didn't matter, he wasn't biting him to drink his memories. The time for information would come soon enough, after he regained composure from the blood loss.

After taking around a pint, Kaname backed away and lowered the man to the floor. He swayed on the spot, glassy-eyed, non-reactant. The blood that tried to flow down his neck was rapidly washed away by the shower around them. The full change would take longer, but this fellow wasn't strong-willed enough to deny him even during the early infection phase.

"What is your name?" Kaname demanded, leveraging the full force of his presence against his new thrall.

"Lars," said the man.

"It is an honor to meet you, Lars." Kamane replied, and he meant it, though it did not mean he would treat this situation with anything but the full pragmatism required of him. What he had just done carried a death sentence, after all-- and he'd need to be well away from this town before he shed his own blood to stabilize Lars. The blood of a human would draw no attention, but if HIS blood was shed every vampire within miles would know he was here.

"Who sent you?" He asked.

"The Council of Elders."

"The Council of Elders is not a homogenous body. Be specific and answer again in good faith," Kaname's will beat down against Lars, whose eyes grew ever dimmer as his resistance eroded away.

"I am an agent of the Ichijo family," Lars droned.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Zero brought the car to halt within one of several empty parking spaces along the edge of town. It was an uncomfortable walk to anywhere relevant, and the surrounding buildings looked condemned or due for renovation, but neither he nor Yuuki had to be especially concerned with that.

"We'll be meeting Kaito closer to the center of town. If there's anything you want while we're here..." He didn't complete the thought. Climbing out of the car, he continued, "Whether we make it back to Cross Academy tonight depends on how it goes. If we don't, First Officer Cross maintains some safehouses that we can stay in."

"H-hey, neither of you said this might be an overnight trip," Yuuki protested, though she didn't look particularly displeased. She fell in beside Zero, taking in the scents of the town as they headed down the block towards one of the middle streets.

He nodded in agreement and said, "You're right. We didn't think to warn you about that possibility. Occupational hazard. Sometimes hunts don't end quick. I can call for another car to pick you up if it's a serious problem."

"No, no. I mean, I could get back if I wanted to..." Yuuki thought of the time they spent talking on the drive down. She wouldn't mind more of the same. She continued, "I just would've brought an overnight bag, maybe. What is Kaito like, anyway?"

Zero made an acknowledging noise and gestured to the left, heading down a central street that was relatively deserted on this end, but luminous and crowded down near the city center. He replied, "Kaito is a wiseass."

"Is that really how you'd describe your friend?" Yuuki asked, looking up at him.

"Depending on who was asking, he might describe me as a polite bookworm, and Ichiru as a moody recluse," Zero explained.

Yuuki laughed, and as they walked together into the night, unaware of the troubles yet to come, she overlooked a powerfully familiar scent speeding away into the distance...


	7. Blood and Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kaito, Yuuki, and Zero go on a hunt, and bear the consequences of that action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Content Warning:** Fantasy violence and sexual themes. Still PG-13, but heated.

* * *

Yuuki wasn't sure what she had expected of Kaito Takamiya, and found it almost anticlimactic when they caught sight of him. He was taller than Zero, but much skinnier-- if she were to estimate his threat as a human, she wouldn't have thought much of him. As a hunter... she thought he looked deceptive. Dangerously so. There was a looseness to the way he moved, the way he observed. It made him seem easygoing, harmless.

His surface scent was concealed by some kind of cologne, which had been applied subtly enough not to offend even Yuuki's senses. His blood... that was partially obscured, too, but the blood always spoke more easily to a vampire. It had a strong scent, most easily related to Yuuki with black licorice. Something that she wouldn't enjoy particularly often, but didn't exactly hate either.

"Kaito," Zero greeted his fellow hunter gruffly. They all came to a halt underneath a corner street lamp.

"Zero," Kaito replied, but it didn't have the coarseness of Zero's greeting.

"This is--" Zero began.

"The Princess. I know," Kaito seemed to be sizing Yuuki up, but what he decided of her never became evident. Seeming to assume that no pleasantries were needed, he jerked his head down the street and started walking.

"I wasn't sure you'd bring her. How useful is she?" Kaito asked.

"Not a liability," Zero answered, but Kaito didn't so much as make a noise of acknowledgement.

"Why're you talking about me like I'm not right here?" Yuuki asked coldly, fighting back a predatory aggravation that she suspected would not serve her here.

"I thought it would rub you the right way. Upper crust girl like you, probably used to catty bastards," Kaito bit back at once. He looked at Zero, "How were you sure it was safe to bring her?"

"I wasn't."

"But?"

"I didn't want to distrust you," Zero replied.

Yuuki thought it was an odd way to say that. He didn't **want** to distrust his friend? Did that mean he did, but had made the decision to act otherwise? She chewed on her lip, thinking of something similar he had said to her, but decided not to ask about it just now.

Kaito hummed thoughtfully, but seemed to accept that too. He paused at the corner, and said, "The President intimated that he wanted me to fuck things up for all of you on purpose. I'm not going to. I think your experiment will fail all by itself and the most peaceful way for it to end is if it peters out naturally."

"Then why are you even coming?" Yuuki demanded.

"I'd rather not let the President send some insufferable radical who causes a war on purpose. Maybe a civil war, depending," Kaito said, coming to an abrupt halt and holding out both arms to stop them from advancing much farther.

"You don't want us to succeed, but you don't want us to be sabotaged, either?" Yuuki asked. She wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Zero, did you bring scent camo?" Kaito ignored her. 

"No."

"Can you--"

"No," Zero repeated, more firmly.

Kaito sighed and shook his head, "Always have to do things the hard way..."

"Are you going to answer me?" Yuuki interjected.

"Wasn't planning on it."

Yuuki stepped in front of Kaito and glared up at him. She didn't raise a hand against him, though somebody observing might have sincerely wondered if she might. She said, "I came here as a special favor to my uncle and to Zero. But I didn't do it so I could be talked down to by a rude jerk who thinks my dreams are so pathetic they'll fall apart on their own. If you want my help, the least you owe me is treating me like I'm a part of the conversation!"

Kaito just looked at her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Yuuki thought she caught a tiny smile on Zero's face-- but by the time her eyes flicked towards him, it had gone.

Kaito rubbed at the back of his head and glanced back at Zero. He remarked, "I guess I lose. Seems like she's a true believer."

"Lose...?" Yuuki asked, bewildered.

"He was seeing how you would react to being disrespected," Zero explained.

"Zero!" Yuuki rounded on him, jabbing a finger into his chest, "If you knew this was coming--!"

"I see she gets pretty physical with _you_ ," Kaito needled, casually.

"W-w-what?!" Yuuki exclaimed, drawing back from Zero.

Zero looked torn. A little reluctantly, he said, "There was no need to warn you of a test that I knew you would pass."

Sighing in frustration, Yuuki sagged in place and wondered aloud, "Is this just how most hunters are...?"

"Yes," Zero said.

"More or less," Kaito agreed.

"That's not reassuring!" Yuuki said.

"Are we doing this your way, or my way?" Kaito asked Zero.

"I know what you're thinking and it would attract more problems than the one we're looking for," Zero said.

Yuuki looked from Zero to Kaito and back again, feeling thoroughly out of the loop, "What he's thinking...? Did you two plan this out already?"

Zero shook his head, "No, but we have the same teacher, and I know how he thinks."

"Not necessarily. We could use you as bait instead of her," Kaito argued.

So that's why he'd requested her. Yuuki glared at Kaito and said, "We're not using anybody as bait."

Kaito surveyed Yuuki as if re-appraising her, but did not answer. Yuuki wondered if that was just something that got ground into all of Toga's apprentices...?

"Sitrep, please," Zero said to Kaito.

The next several minutes were spent discussing what the Association knew: That the alleged Level E was probably a local grocer whose store had not so much been closed as abruptly abandoned. The odd thing was that, whatever had transpired, the feral hadn't lost their mind completely within the store itself. Ordinarily a person trying to hide their descent into lunacy would wind up attacking somebody at home or in their place of work, but this one had left and begun to prowl the surrounding neighborhood. A family member with a spare set of keys had come and locked up, but neighborhood children periodically repeated rumors that something was haunting the place at night.

"Has anyone been fully exsanguinated yet?" Zero asked.

"Yes and no," Kaito said, fishing a photograph out of his pocket and passing it to Zero, "a local homeless woman was found to have bled out in an alley a week ago, around three days after the grocer's disappearance. It seemed like she was attacked by something, and there was a lot of blood unaccounted for, but most of it was on the ground around her. We've had a few confirmed bites happen since, but we haven't found any missing persons that were _sucked_ dry."

Zero breathed a dissatisfied sigh and replied, "I don't like the sound of that."

"Why?" Yuuki asked.

"When a possible Level E situation looks like this, there are two likely outcomes," Zero raised a finger, "the first is that they're somebody who hasn't fallen to Level E but don't know enough about vampires to do anything but just try to survive. They end up murdering people thinking they need to in order to make it through another night. The second is that it's a level D on the edge of turning but not completely absent any control. A true level E just rampages, even if they have a preference of victim."

"And what... does the Association do in the first situation?" Yuuki inquired further.

"Depends."

"On?"

"Temperament of the vampire, difficulty of apprehension, degree of contamination, disposition and relative strength of... the dispatched hunter," Kaito rattled them off as if it was from a memorized list. He reached into his jacket and drew out a gun-- though it was much different from Zero's. It had a matte black finish, a wooden handle, and a distinctive box magazine that was set in front of the trigger. Etched into its surface was a name -- **Weeping Larkspur**. On closer inspection Yuuki noticed that the gun had a distinct, oily sheen.

"Disposition-- some of you will just kill them no matter what?" Yuuki asked, anger rising in her voice again.

Zero laid his hand on her shoulder and said, "There are warmongers even among hunters. That's the world we're trying to replace, isn't it?"

"The average hunter has about the same conscience as a human. They'll go easy if they can, but if it comes down to a choice between their own safety and survival, or their partner's, and the target's, they'll always come down on the side of themselves and their partner," Kaito added. He kept his gun angled towards the ground, but gestured towards Yuuki, "You're the brick weighing down our side of the scales, Princess. You have a lot of say in how this goes, if you stay on top of things. But just so you know..."

Kaito looked Yuuki dead in the eyes, "If I feel like I'm in danger, I'll definitely kill the target."

Patting Yuuki reassuringly, Zero broke away and drew his own weapon, leading the way into a nearby alley.

An hour passed before they found anything. Though she did not have quite the same aural awareness that the two hunters did, Yuuki had a much more keen nose for blood-- and she could smell it being spilled, not far away. A few blocks down, situated towards the middle... inside a building?

"This way!" Yuuki shouted, bursting into a cloud of butterflies that split into two distinct trails. One each joined Zero and Kaito before spreading out in a long, ropelike trail leading towards the scent-- and she was more than a little surprised at how well they managed to keep up with her in flight, even though she was leading them deliberately.

The site was a worn diner, not quite dilapidated enough to be considered unsafe, and yet still dirty and aged in a way that made it hard not to judge it from the outside. The interior was dark, and a sign declaring _Sorry, we're closed!_ was displayed on the glass-faced front door-- though it stood ever-so-slightly ajar, and the sign still swayed gently. No one was visible in the front of the house.

Zero was the first to enter the building-- too quickly, Yuuki thought. He pushed the door open and advanced into the back room without waiting for assistance.

Their quarry had pinned what Yuuki could only assume was the manager in the cramped kitchen. The grocer was a blonde-haired woman, slight in height and figure, sitting with her knees planted against the manager's chest while holding her arms in check. The manager was so much bigger than the vampire attacking her that it was impossible to think that she could overpower the woman on the floor.

There was no trace of a 'person' in the vampire. Yuuki scattered throughout the kitchen, observing from countless butterflies perched upon pots and pans, shelves and counters. Her eyes gleamed red, which was hardly out of the ordinary, but they had an unnatural wild look to them as if something had pulled out a person's eyes and replaced them with that of some reptilian beast. Blood dripped from her mouth and chin, which already had a ring of dried, caked on blood that had been eaten sloppily and allowed to go bad in the air.

The manager's throat hadn't been torn out, but she had a wicked set of holes in her neck, and was bleeding copiously.

When Zero entered the room Yuuki understood at once why he hadn't hesitated. The vampire jerked upright defensively, swiping in his general direction with claws that elongated to the length of swords. It would've been comical if it wasn't so serious. But-- that moment took the vampire's attention away from the woman on the floor. It wasn't a 'tactical decision', but a decision to try to make sure the victim lived through the night.

Zero blocked the swing of talons with Bloody Rose's barrel. It elicited a sparking crack-pop on contact that caused the vampire to jerk back, but before she had the opportunity to gain ground Zero stepped in and twisted his fist into her solar plexus. She went skidding backwards, stopping herself from being pushed into a position of no escape by seizing hold of an oven on one side.

The feral vampire flicked her wrist and advanced, her talons flashing through the air a second time as she stepped sideways into the doorway that would lead out the back. Zero moved to parry, but this time he didn't quite manage it wholly. The chest targeted strike was lower, but it lanced through the front of his leg and emerged out the back with a spurt of blood.

Just as the feral moved to try to press what she perceived as a decisive advantage, Yuuki re-materialized from the swarm of butterflies, directing a burst of psychokinetic force that obliterated the arm to which the claws were attached and sent the feral screeching and fleeing out the back in fear.

A single gunshot and a sound like sand pouring through a sieve went unnoticed as Yuuki whirled to check on Zero. She was surprised to find that he was still standing-- he had used the chance she gave him to back off, though he was forced to lean against the surrounding countertops to do it. The smell of blood was thick on the air, and though not much of it yet was Zero's, his was the blood that stood out the most to her.

"The claws are still in," Zero said, with a matter-of-factness that surprised Yuuki at least a little, "get help for the civilian first."

Kaito clicked his tongue as he came in through the back. He held Weeping Larkspur with its barrel pointed towards the ceiling, a faint purple haze lingering near its barrel as if it was a gun from a movie, and smoke was drifting out of it. He said, "Sloppy work, Zero."

Zero grunted.

"Kaito, you--" Yuuki was about to fling some very nasty names when Kaito simply left through the door to the front of the diner. She knelt over the bleeding woman, applying pressure to the jagged bites with her bare hands. Unable to vent her frustration, she looked towards Zero.

He had put Bloody Rose away and begun to use a knife to saw through the talons in his leg, shortening them so that he could move more easily without removing them. Every now and then the movement -- however gentle -- drew out a painful hiss, accompanied by an oozing of blood around the intrusions.

Yuuki's breath hitched. This was so... awful.

The next room over, Kaito picked up the phone and began to dial the Association.

"You're doing well," Zero said, putting away his knife.

"No, I'm not."

"Doing well and not being okay are not mutually exclusive," Zero replied.

"Is this what you've been doing all this time? Learning to do this, and then doing it?" She asked.

Zero looked away, and Yuuki could tell that she was in for a long wait while he... processed? Percolated? Right now, she couldn't take that. With a hint of desperation, she said, "Please don't. Please keep talking."

"If someone had asked me, 'What do you want to do?', I don't think I'd have an answer. As long as there are people who won't embrace your dream..." Zero met Yuuki's gaze, "... someone who 'does that' is needed. And I don't mind, being dreamless, and guarding somebody else's dream. Still... I'm sorry. This was one of the messy ones."

"One of the easier things we do," He continued, looking up at the ceiling, "is correct minor friction between vampires and humans. Sometimes a vampire performer will get their crowd riled up, and that makes them get rowdy. Toga likes to use cigarettes to make it difficult for vampires to smell things. It gets into everything, and it doesn't stand out as abnormal, so they usually don't see it coming. He made a habit of it, though..."

Yuuki snorted at that. Shakily, she asked, "Is that what Kaito wanted you to do earlier?"

"Yeah..."

It was about twenty minutes before a medical and clean-up crew arrived, and Yuuki was able to move away from the diner's manager. A memory modification was performed, and she was wheeled away to a waiting vehicle shortly thereafter.

Yuuki found herself watching a medic ask Zero if he was ready for the talons to come out. His response was a vague affirmative, and his reaction a faint widening of his eyes bereft of the gaspy hisses that had characterized his coping with it before.

"He'll be fine," The medical officer reassured Yuuki, "but he needs to go easy on that leg."

She thought she said something to him, but couldn't quite remember what it was.

They were being driven to one of the safehouses Zero mentioned. Kaito sat in the passenger side of the front seat, although he said nothing at all. He helped get Zero situated and departed with a disinterested, "Well... see you."

Zero nodded, and Yuuki remained silent, still incensed with how she had been treated.

The property they were in was a dingy studio apartment. It was furnished, but practically all of it looked secondhand and... well-loved, Yuuki would describe it. It was a sharp contrast with the life she'd lived. Even the old things felt new, fresh, comfortable and well-maintained. She didn't think anyone had 'maintained' this place at all.

"You can fly back, if you want," Zero said, reclining on the ratty couch and shutting his eyes. His leg had been worked on on-site, and was presently bandaged around the puncture points. The smell of him was still thick on the air, caking itself onto the bandages.

"Stop trying to send me away," Yuuki replied grumpily, sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

Zero grunted, which Yuuki took to be assent, and then fell silent. Eventually, his breathing slowed.

Yuuki trembled, and though she drew her arms in around herself, she knew that it wasn't a result of being cold. It was chilly outside, and this apartment was not well-heated, but it wasn't uncomfortable either. Her eyes settled on Zero's thigh, where she could feel the blood that was close to the surface. It wasn't a lot, but it wouldn't have taken more than a droplet to snare her attention right now.

There was much, much more than that in front of her. There had been tremendously more of it in that diner's small kitchen, but most of it had not been so appetizing. She didn't know how much time passed between Zero appearing to fall asleep and when she found herself scooting towards him-- it might've been minutes, an hour, half the night. Delicately she tugged at his tie, trying not to wake him as she worked it loose and set it aside. The subtle change in his breathing that indicated some wakefulness escaped her as she undid the top button of his shirt.

So hungry. _Go on._ **Just a nibble.**

At no point did Yuuki altogether lose control. There was no additional mind acting on her own, merely the persistent urging of a highly developed and insistent 'stomach'. But there was a pleasant haze, as if she was not bent over one of her best friends, undressing him in a dirty apartment. The smell and 'feel' of him was like walking into the kitchen of a family holiday, the oven still working on something delicious that everyone in the family -- obviously -- loved, and received only at this time each year. It wasn't just texture and flavor and need. There was an inextricable element of love and comfort to it. She closed her eyes and drank it in.

Her hunger mingled dangerously with her want. Yuuki leaned forward and angled her head, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. That it would surely wake him was so far in the back of her mind that it didn't factor into her decision making. Another kiss followed, rising a little higher, and then another. If he had been no one at all she wouldn't trouble herself with these niceties-- and then again, if he had been no one at all, she would not have been so entranced.

 **So** _close_.

She nibbled his neck experimentally, a soft scrape of teeth that would've been playful in any other circumstances. Just a little harder and she could--

"Yuuki," Zero spoke more gently than he had ever done, except perhaps when they were very young. Her eyes flew open, the red gleam exposed for the first time since it had begun. But that glow was accompanied with misty vision. All at once Yuuki felt absolutely terrible, as if every ounce of guilt and shame that had been suspended in the heat of the moment descended in force all at once.

And yet...

When she blinked through the tears that were starting to form, Yuuki found that Zero was simply looking at her-- as if... as if nothing was wrong. As if she hadn't...

"Please," she heard herself say, as if from a long, long way off.

"Please. I'm so..."

Zero fished a folding knife from his pocket and sliced his left index and middle finger. She stared, transfixed, as he offered them to her.

"No biting," Was all he had to say about it.

Now it wasn't merely her hunger acting up. Yuuki's heart pounded thunderously in her ears, a positive storm of butterflies erupting in her stomach. As gingerly as she could manage she seized his wrist and brought his fingers to her lips.

It was several minutes before the trickle of blood Yuuki was afforded managed to calm her down. She wasn't satisfied-- she could drink him dry a hundred times over and still she would not grow tired of the taste. But she no longer felt parched beyond belief. Shamefully she looked up at him, expecting a harsh face to greet her.

But Zero had leaned back and closed his eyes again. He wasn't asleep-- she knew that much. But the fact that he would relax so much while doing something so dangerous...

Yuuki unfastened the cravat from her uniform and used it to wrap his fingers, fighting back the urge to take just a little more as she did so. She fixed her attention on the topmost button of his shirt that was still fastened, unwilling in that moment to look at him properly.

"How can you just... just sit there and take this? Why don't you tell me off? Why didn't you push me away?" Yuuki asked, tremulously.

Zero issued a weary sigh, the passage of his breath lightly disturbing Yuuki's bangs. He had an answer-- and he wasn't sure that he had the emotional strength to give it just now. There was a story to be told, one that was coarse, and bloody, and had at best a bittersweet ending. In his mind he saw a flash of talons, a trail of red. Having already been asked not to keep her waiting so long, though, he decided on the short version.

"Each of Toga's students has one 'something' that they're willing to gamble anything on. I don't know what 'something' is for Ichiru, or Kaito. For me, right now..." He looked down at Yuuki, "... it's just that Yuuki's heart is bigger than her fangs."


	8. Start of Term

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kaito, Yuuki, and Zero return to Cross Academy.

* * *

It was not a good start of term.

Kaito had been the one to drive, on account of Zero's leg injury making operating the pedals awkward and painful. Yuuki sat next to Zero in the back, trying to squeeze in a little more sleep and not bring herself to a state of wakefulness that would force her to confront the awkwardness of everything that had happened. For his part, Zero seemed to have no problems sleeping, and on the few occasions that she cracked her eyes to the discomfort of full daylight beating down through the windows, she wondered if he was running away from last night as well.

The car ground to a halt in front of Cross Academy to a buzz of activity. There was no sense of trouble brewing, no scent of blood, no flare of aural hostility. Even so, Yuuki felt like there was a lead weight in her stomach. She gazed blearily out the window at students moving from place to place, wishing desperately for the warmth and solitude of her bed. To her surprise, Kaito circled to her side of the car and opened the door.

"Since this guy is injured, I'll have to take care of his job for now. Take care of him, huh?" No matter how Kaito presented it, it wasn't actually a request. He walked away into the front halls before Yuuki could even muster a response. An aggravated whine, halfway to a growl, rumbled in her throat.

Zero got out of the car before she could react.

Yuuki scrambled out after him, half-expecting to need to offer him someone to lean on-- but even that much wasn't necessary. He moved more slowly than he usually did, but not terribly uncomfortably. She wondered how fast hunters healed, but the trace amounts of blood she could smell making its way into his bandages was enough to tell her that it wasn't 'that fast'.

"Take it easy," Yuuki advised him tiredly, trudging along beside him with all the energy of a wilting flower.

He made a noise that Yuuki couldn't interpret, then removed a pocket watch from his jacket and checked it. With a deeply aggravated look about him, Zero said, "We should report in."

⁂⁂⁂

Toga blew smoke across the desk towards Kaien, who coughed -- exaggeratedly, Toga was sure -- and waved animatedly to clear the smoke from in front of him. His cigarette bobbed in his lips as he said, "Kaito told me things ended to his satisfaction. Seemed surprised that the Kuran heiress wasn't just a spoiled brat. 'She's a good girl, mostly. Feed her before you send her out again.'."

Kaien furrowed his brow in concern. He looked down and tugged at the desk drawer, examining something within.

"... Ah. Thinking of giving that to her?"

"Yes. I didn't want to make much of it so soon, but she needs a way to restrain her power a little. The Kuran have a unique relationship with bonded weapons, and it will give her an option that isn't taxing on her thirst," Kaien replied, lifting the baton from his drawer and placing it against the desktop. He fidgeted with it, rolling it back and forth with a finger.

Nodding, Toga leaned back in his chair. He glanced out the window, across the lake, towards the Moon Dorm. He asked, "Anybody suspicious yet?"

Kaien shook his head, "No. The incident from the other night was a 'crime of passion'. I think we're past our first delicate phase. If we can get through the night without anything else happening, things should get less rocky."

The door opened. Zero led the way, followed quickly by a frazzled Yuuki.

"Mission complete. Clean-up crews headed out to do media damage control and memory modifications shortly after elimination. The on-site medic said I'm on light duty for a week or so," Zero droned, wearily.

"Um... is that really a complete report?" Yuuki asked.

"Getting a complete report out of Zero is an all-or-nothing affair. Either it's already done before you ask or it isn't happening. I told Kaito to compile a written report," Toga replied, gruffly.

"K-Kiryu..." Kaien pushed his glasses up his nose, inspecting Zero very thoroughly. Everyone looked at him. Raising a trembling hand, he pointed shakily towards Zero's neck, "Did you..."

Yuuki froze, her breath catching in her throat. No, no, no--

Rising dramatically from his desk, Kaien jabbed his finger accusingly at Zero, "... Stay overnight just so you could make out?!"

Without the faintest hint of hesitation, Zero turned on his heel, stepped out of the room, and slammed the door behind him. A lamp next to the door swayed perilously from the force of it-- only to quickly be rescued by Yuuki, whose face was an unconvincing mask of neutrality.

"Oh! Yuuki, while I have you here, there's something I have for you," Kaien said, seeming to forget all about what he had just been saying.

"... Well, I have a class to prepare for," Toga said, abruptly. He rose and left the room, leaving a bewildered Yuuki and a rather disappointed-looking Kaien in his wake.

⁂⁂⁂

"... Still using a sword, huh?" Kaito asked Ichiru, as they circled the lake. Ever since the previous incident, this was one of the patrol routes that Prefects were intended to check at least once during the day, and then again at night.

"Why wouldn't I?" Ichiru asked.

"The 'Yagari School' is all about firearms. I would've thought you'd come around to the benefits of distance weaponry eventually," Kaito said, clearing a log and pausing to examine the area where the 'attack' had occurred previously. He commented, "I almost want to clear this place so it isn't such a tempting place to go for privacy... but I think we'll catch more problems if students are allowed to make the mistake of using it. Gives us an easy soft spot to check first."

"Takamiya," Ichiru said icily, "I'm not my brother. Don't assume I'll play along with your needling."

Kaito shrugged, and asked, "Then what do you think about clearing this place?"

"That depends on your priority," Ichiru answered, matter-of-factly.

"Are you saying you don't have one yourself? You really aren't like Zero."

"Whether I do or not is immaterial," Ichiru replied, "if you want my opinion you can ask for that in particular instead of trying to bait it out of me. Otherwise you can tell me your priority and I can give you my analysis of the benefits and drawbacks."

"Why are you so--"

Ichiru cut him off, "Because you are that sort of man."

Kaito snorted, but didn't protest the accusation.

The sound of footsteps and a wavering presence caught their attention as they circled the opposite shore of the lake. It was still light out, of course, so it wasn't the time of day for most vampires to be out and about. Ichiru thumbed the guard of his sword and stepped towards the sound.

Kaito kept his distance, circling to the side to occupy a flanking position, but didn't reach for his gun.

"Ichiru...?" Maria's voice came through the trees. It had a dreamy quality to it, as if she had just woken up and not quite managed to rouse herself properly. She stepped to the edge of the wood that served as an informal barrier between the Moon dorm and the lake shore. A parasol was held in her left hand, shading her from direct sunlight-- though she didn't dare step outside the shade of the trees, either.

"It isn't time for the dormitory gates to be rotated, Maria," Ichiru scolded her, allowing his weapon to fall back into its scabbard as he advanced to the edge of the woods.

"Why are you even awake?" He asked.

"Hungry." She admitted, blearily.

Kaito shot Ichiru a warning look, but remained where he was.

"Feeding on students is against the rules, Maria. Come on..." Ichiru took Maria by the wrist and led her back towards the Moon dormitories.

"I didn't... take you for a true believer, Ichiru," Kaito commented.

Ichiru shook his head, but didn't look back, "I'm not. Not that it's any of your business, Takamiya."

Issuing an exasperated sigh, Kaito trailed the pair at a distance.

"Ichiru, could I..." Maria murmured.

"No. Even if the answer was yes, I don't have anything to spare, so don't ask again," Ichiru replied, tersely.

"I'm sorry."

"Will it help you settle down if I sit with you for a while?" He asked.

Maria made a noise that he could only assume was a yes, because a moment later she picked up her pace and began to lead him. The Moon dorm was almost empty-- a few other students that couldn't sleep or were busily being irresponsible were around in the common room, raising their heads a little to watch them pass by.

The room that had been assigned to Maria had heavy wooden shutters instead of anything that Ichiru would have described as blinds, blocking out all sunlight from the exterior. Heavy curtains were pulled back away from them, though, so he assumed they must be open at night time at the very least. She hooked her parasol on the doorknob and left it there, and then fell back into a chaise that looked like it had been arranged as more of a second bed than a lounging space.

He withdrew his hand and straightened up, looking around the room a bit more. It looked more comfortable than he'd expected it to-- and more personal, also. Little touches of personal style were spread throughout. Little black doilies, hats set atop shelves and hanging from hooks. It was messier than was typical, too.

"Would you please pour me a drink, Ichiru?"

Remembering the water she had brought him, Ichiru nodded. He went to a corner basin where an ornate pitcher sat alongside the basin on a wooden frame, lifting it free and carrying it to where a set of glasses stood alongside a scattering of tablets littering her desk's surface.

"Thank you," Maria said when Ichiru crossed the room to hand her a glass, sitting up to sip at the faintly tinted liquid.

"What does it taste like?" Ichiru wondered, returning the pitcher to its nook on the basin.

Her eyes widened a little in surprise. It wasn't the sort of thing Maria thought that most humans would ask, much less Ichiru. She lowered the glass from her lips and swished the liquid back and forth.

"It's like..." Maria thought hard of something a human would wrap their head around, and then continued, "like fizzy water, with a little bit of fruit flavor, but not a lot of sweetness. It's not very good. Do you want to try some?"

Ichiru stared at her. Uneasily he reached out to accept the glass back for a moment, taking a sip. He made a face that must have been funny, because Maria laughed. He forced himself to swallow and handed the glass back.

"Sorry," She said, sincerely.

"Is it really that bad?"

He cleared his throat and straightened up again, trying and failing to maintain a bit of composure. With a mildly strained voice, Ichiru said, "Like somebody scraped the rust off of a tin full of old nails and put it in a drink."

Even so, Ichiru felt better almost immediately after imbibing the drink. Not a lot, but with his natural deficiency of energy it wasn't hard to tell the difference. That disturbed him, a little.

"That's much worse than what I get from it, but with the sort of face you just made, I can only believe you," Maria said, tipping the glass back again.

"I wonder if it would taste better in something else..." Ichiru said.

An abrupt banging came from the other side of the window. Kaito stood outside, finally having run out of patience with how long Ichiru was taking.

"Have a good morning," Ichiru said, turning to leave.

"Would you mind visiting me again?" She asked, timidly.

"If you like," he answered, waving at her as he shut the door behind him.

⁂⁂⁂

Yuuki and Zero spent the rest of the afternoon struggling to concentrate in classes, and not being altogether successful. Apart from being tired, Yuuki also had something she wanted to ask Zero more questions about-- Kaien had given her a collapsible staff, which she was told was one of the Association's bonded weapons. She didn't really know how to use it, except as a club, and hoped he'd be able to help.

Zero for his part started off the day trying to present himself as attentive, but eventually just gave in and started sleeping openly in class. She didn't know how he could do it without being self-conscious about it, until she hit a wave of fatigue sufficiently intense that she started nodding off herself. It was the first day, and Zero had suffered a visible injury, so the reprimands they experienced weren't terribly harsh.

But it wasn't a good start to anything, much less classes. It was only after the last class on the Day schedule finished that they were able to get a moment to breathe without funny or irritable looks.

"All Day class students, you have thirty minutes to return to the Sun dorm before the gatehouse will be closed for the night," It was the first time Zero raised his voice above an annoyed mutter that day, managing to speak above the crowds bustling through the hallways and catch the ear of everyone on their floor.

Mutinous muttering followed, but no one voiced their complaint directly.

"If I have to go out of my way to fetch you," Zero warned in a flat and dispassionate tone, "we'll be having a discussion on major clusters of sensory neurons in the human body."

The dozen or so students nearest them did not dither in the hallway on their way back to the dorm.

A few minutes later Yuuki and Zero settled at the Sun dorm's gate, watching the last few students pass through. This day already felt like it has stretched on into eternity-- Yuuki was anxious to ask questions, both about the weapon she had just inherited and about... about what had happened.

Zero for his part merely sat on the ground in the gate area, his back to the wall, eyes closed. When somebody began to walk by he would open an eye enough to see who was passing through, and then resume his quasi-dormancy.

"Can you actually sleep like that?" Yuuki asked.

"Not really."

"But you're trying?"

"Yes."

Yuuki frowned and moved to sit beside Zero, putting her back to the stone wall and closing her eyes to see how it felt. It was uncomfortable-- maybe better than standing, with a leg like that. Even so, she couldn't imagine managing to sleep here.

When she opened her eyes again, she found Zero looking at her.

"What?" She asked.

"The idea isn't 'to sleep', but 'to rest'. A part of our training involved approaching things like a soldier, and one of the emphasized areas was getting rest when possible," Zero explained, in a weary monotone.

"How many stragglers?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"You can smell them, right?"

"Oh, er..." Yuuki adjusted her attention towards her sense of smell, and answered, "Just two. They're coming now. We can go over to my gate soon."

Zero nodded. Sure enough, the last couple of students meandered by a few minutes later-- hurried along in their passing by a fierce glare from him. He rose with minor difficulty and locked the gate with a heavy clank, turning to begin the walk to the Moon gate.

"Hey, hold on! Before we go, I want to talk about..." Yuuki began, moving to get to her feet.

Before she even completed her thought, Zero obeyed, moving to sit back down next to her. She blinked and flopped back against the wall, not having risen enough for it to even be uncomfortable. With a heavy sigh, he replied, "I'm tired. A lot happened. Pick one thing, save the rest."

 _One thing._ Yuuki made an aggravated noise-- she'd been waiting long enough already. But she could tell that he really was that tired, and swallowed as much of her annoyance and anxiety as she could. One hand reflexively went to the thigh holster where Artemis was concealed. That was the practical question to ask, but he wouldn't be able to train her right now, would he? There was no way they were getting to climbing for at least a week, either. In that case...

Her hands shook a little as she rested them against her legs.

"W-why..." Yuuki stammered a little. The question had been bugging her all day. It was stupid, pointless. But it was still the sort of thing that she knew would linger as she laid in bed, well into the morning hours, stopping her from shutting her brain up enough to rest. She swallowed, and continued, "Why did it bother you so much, when Uncle Kaien thought..."

"Because there was only one other person in the room whose business it was, and it wasn't him," Zero said.

"So you're not upset about what I did?" Yuuki probed.

"We already talked about this."

Yuuki twisted at her cravat nervously. She didn't know why she thought that his disposition might have changed overnight. It wasn't as if he had even pushed her away. She had woken cuddled up into his side, his arm wrapped loosely around her. Even so, she gave him a pleading look that must have been somewhere in the realm of convincing.

Zero raised his fingers to brush against the marks she had left on his neck. He said, "Well... I haven't been suppressing my defensive response when you've touched me in the hope that you would stop. 'That' part of me would like to throw you across the room. The rest of me would welcome you, even if... you bare your fangs at me."

⁂⁂⁂

It was a good twelve hours out of town before Kaname dared to stop and feed his passenger. He pulled the car off the road, so that it sat within the shade of the surrounding trees, and opened the back door. With an effort of will he lifted the psychic command he had issued for Lars to _sleep_ , causing the man to stir in the back seat.

Lars woke feeling awful. His head hurt and his body ached, and new scents flooded his senses in painful excess. The light that streamed across the road was painful to his eyes, and though it did not 'hurt' him exactly, he knew that it would be unpleasant to be directly within it. He staggered out of the car, took two steps, and threw up in the grass. It took him several long minutes of steadying himself before he was able to muster a coherent thought.

"Going to order me to kill myself out here?" He asked. It's what he would do with a captured spy, were he a vampire lord. Clean, difficult to prove. The pile of dust would be nigh impossible to find, and his effects, well...

But to his surprise, Kaname answered, "No, of course not. I'm not barbaric."

Lars looked up in confusion. He knew that this being could command him to do anything, and so that he wasn't truly a threat. But even so, those commands weren't all-binding unless they were specific and expansive. Level D vampires managed to slip their chains fairly often, though usually by fleeing to another vampire's protection.

"I will be frank with you, but **you are forbidden from repeating what I am about to tell you in any way** ," Kaname said, and the command was like thunder, like fire and brimstone. It had not been spoken with great force, but Lars knew that he would not be able to wiggle around it, even if he had wanted to.

Lars nodded.

Kaname continued, "I am fond of my uncle, and do not think highly of attempts to destabilize his pet project-- or goals that would disrupt it incidentally. I would like you to tell me what you know about the Ichijo family's intentions in this."

Bracing himself against the car, Lars stood up properly. He said, "I don't know. Or more specifically, I know what the goal of my specific mission was, but the greater scheme behind it wasn't disclosed to me. Somebody near the top of the chain wants the machine that can be used to make condensed blood tablets. Whether it's for personal use, to disrupt Cross Academy, or out of competing business interests, I couldn't say."

"Suppose you had to take an educated guess, Mr. Spy."

Lars snorted. He rubbed at his neck nervously and replied, "Probably 'all of the above'. Councilman Ichijo left this part of the country a little while ago, and there's no businessman who wouldn't want to have the means to feed vampires like that. They definitely wouldn't want Cross Academy and the youngest of the Aido to have a monopoly on it. If it was meant as a direct attack on Cross Academy, they wouldn't have told me that."

"You were intended to intercept the machine enroute to Cross Academy, weren't you?" Kaname asked.

"... Ah. Yeah," Lars admitted, folding his arms over his chest and looking a bit disgruntled, "So that's why they didn't turn up."

"That is why they didn't turn up," Kaname confirmed, smiling faintly. He asked, "What were you told to do with the couriers?"

"Not to kill them, if I could help it. Too likely to stir up excess trouble."

Kaname nodded and stepped in front of Lars, drawing his left hand into a fist and elongating his fingernails into claws to draw blood along his palm. He raised his hand to head height and offered it to Lars, "This will stabilize you and make you feel better. I have a job for you now, and I happen to know that the Ichijo family does not have an active pureblood that will be able to detect the change in you for a certainty. You will not remember my face, voice, or identity. In three months time you will return to the laboratory you were intended to infiltrate and wait there."

It was not Lars that latched onto Kaname's hand and began to drink. He was not altogether certain who it was, except that he was sure it couldn't be him. The taste was not what he expected, though-- it was like something mythical, something unimaginable. Like the food of the Gods in old mythology, which mortal bodies could not endure. If it did not spill copiously against his hands he might imagine it to be a precious molten gold, deadly and beautiful. Even then Lars was not sure it was not burning him away, even though his body persisted.


	9. The Binding of Plurality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cross Academy faces its first major challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Content Warning:** This chapter features **fantasy violence**.

* * *

The following three months at Cross Academy passed with no incidents much more serious than the first. Small slip-ups characterized the few unsupervised brushes of the Night and Day classes, at least one of which was once again initiated by Kichirou and Claudia. Even Aido had given everyone a bit of a scare when he got too flirty with a Day class girl who was trying to take pictures of the Night class, much to Yuuki's disappointment, though she believed his sincere contrition more than she had Claudia's.

Eventually both Kaito and Zero lost patience; the latter had threatened to shoot the next person who stepped out of line. Kaito, on the other hand, had actually done so with a gun filled with rubber slugs-- though he had not told anybody it was filled with unusual ammunition, and Zero stopped him just after he took his second shot. The vampire who had been subjected to this was angry and shaken, but didn't press the matter with anyone.

Zero explained to a worried Yuuki -- whose household had always been much more peaceful than this, even surrounded by vampires -- that hunters and vampires just had a minimum level of violence in them, so this wasn't terribly off-center. He'd heard of individual concerts that had ended up worse than Cross Academy so far.

The beginning of December would mark the first of Cross Academy's great trials.

⁂⁂⁂

The early morning hours of December 2nd at Cross Academy were characterized by an uneasiness that few had the opportunity to experience before the trouble it precipitated began. A fog rolled in across the grounds, swift and thick and unnatural, conducted by a far-off actor whose presence was sufficiently distant that even Zero only noticed it when its machinations had already rolled in too close to go after it.

A faint gleam began to grow on the horizon, where smoke began to rise and mingle with the fog. Someone had set a fire at the far edges of the grounds, and then abandoned it. As if that were not bad enough, several 'somethings' had begun to prowl the grounds, strange and bestial noises made by human vocal cords swimming out of the dark. The first blood spilled that night was in the Faculty Dormitories, off behind the Sun Dorm. The smell of it filled the air, and was soon followed by the report of a gun.

Ichiru and Zero emerged from their rooms simultaneously, still in night clothes but carrying their weapons. They exchanged a look.

"Organize the students in the main common room and barricade it," Zero said, before taking off down the corridor towards the front door.

Kaito emerged a few minutes later leading a group of students from the upper floors. By the time all three floors had been cleared, the ground floor common room was uncomfortably packed. Nervous students sat on the floor in clusters of friends, while those who had agreed to help moved bookshelves and assorted furniture up against the rear door and windows.

"Zero run off solo?" Kaito asked, just as Ichiru returned from sweeping the dormitories for stragglers.

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Ichiru nodded.

A young woman with short, dirty blonde hair approached the pair of them. Quite calmly, she asked, "Is this an attack on members of the Night class?"

"We don't know yet. But it should be alright, Wakaba. Just remain calm," Ichiru replied, wincing as the sound of gunfire rang out thrice more.

Sayori smiled. She was more steady and calm than almost anybody else gathered here, save perhaps the two hunters she was addressing. In a way, that impressed Ichiru. He wasn't sure it would serve her in this place, though.

"Are you going to defend us with your sword, Mr. Kiryu?" She asked.

"If it comes to that," Ichiru said, unsure as to whether or not he was being teased.

"You'll be fine as long as you don't stray far from us," Kaito said. He sat in an armchair with his back to the barricade against the rear door, not so much calm as completely relaxed. He held Weeping Larkspur loosely in his right hand, although both Ichiru and Sayori noticed that he never pointed it in a dangerous direction. His seemingly relaxed posture was, itself, a false premise to make him a more appealing target.

⁂⁂⁂

Zero tore down the path towards the faculty quarters, but he hadn't even made it halfway there before something came at him through the fog. He threw himself to one side as something large and person-shaped attempted a tackle through the space he had previously occupied. The creature had an unpleasant body odor, as if it had been ages since it had last been anything approximating clean. Its clothes were tattered rags, filthy, caked with blood, and its hair was matted and grimy. It whirled in place, its joints assuming unnatural positions as it crouched low to the ground and circled back.

He took a shot at it from the hip, sending it skittering to one side to escape the expanding bloom of its projectile. It lurched forward and sprang like a great cat, only to find that it had underestimated its prey. Zero delivered a bone-shattering kick to its face, using his greater height to counter-attack slightly out of the range of its claws. It spat a pointed tooth reflexively when it landed heavily, blood pouring from its nose and mouth.

The gunshot that followed reduced it to so much dust on the ground.

Two more gunshots followed soon afterward. Zero felt another of the bestial presences blip out of existence as a bullet found something vital in them. Without even pausing to catch his breath, he hurtled through the doors of the faculty quarters.

⁂⁂⁂

Although it was past time for the Night class to have largely retired for the night, it was not yet time for the gate rotation to return freedom of movement to the Day class. As such, the Night class students and some of its faculty were a great deal more spread out across the campus than their human counterparts.

Yuuki was still at the main campus building, as were most of her Night class friends, when the trouble started. The smell of blood drifted from the Sun dorms followed by the crack of a rifle, and if one had not already turned heads the other would have. They were the first to detect the scent of smoke that signalled the setting of a fire somewhere on the grounds, distant though it was at that moment.

All eyes turned to Yuuki.

Even if they hadn't, she would have understood that this was a moment she would have to take control of. Yuuki surveyed the people she had to work with, nodded to herself, and barked, "Takuma, Senri, Rima, you're in charge of securing the gatehouse and getting everyone back to the Moon dorm. Delegate to any of the students who are willing and able to help, I trust your discretion on who that might be. Hanabusa, Akatsuki, go put out that fire. Claudia, pick somebody you trust and go with them, they might need somebody watching their backs. Miss Kurenai, with me, please!"

A distortion stretched Yuuki's left arm as she headed for the stairs. A small cloud of butterflies dispersed across the students from it, with each of her 'commanders' and their lieutenants receiving one, and a smattering of the others receiving one also. A few others scattered out into the grounds, to go in search of who was causing this trouble. All of those people moving around out there, though... had somebody rounded up every Level E hiding in town and let them loose on the school?!

"I appreciate you looking after me, Princess, but I'm not a fighter," Maria cautioned Yuuki, her face etched with worry as they reached the second floor landing.

"I know, Maria," Yuuki said, selecting a grounds-facing central classroom and going inside. She continued, "It's safest for you to be near me right now, and I need you to use your special ability to help me find the attacker."

This elicited a surprised look from Maria, who had never previously been considered an asset in this way. She smiled and seated herself in a desk next to a stretch of wall that was not exposed to any low windows, and closed her eyes.

After a few seconds, Maria said, "The grounds themselves are light on birds at the moment. They're scared of the fire, and the things prowling around. There's another curiously empty spot about a mile and a half away, along the river that runs past the teacher's quarters for the Night class." 

Yuuki nodded, allowing her consciousness to drift towards her familiars. Takuma's group had already secured the bridge gatehouse, and Night class students were filing past to their dormitory. From this vantage point she could smell the thickness of the blood coming from the direction of the Sun dormitory. Some of it smelled like it was vampire blood, but there was already too much for her liking.

"Takuma, once the students are through, have Senri bait them with his blood. I'm going to restore visibility for you, but it won't be for very far around," Yuuki spoke through her familiars, and an instant later a burst of force swirled violently around the gatehouse, dispersing the fog within a short distance of it.

Immediately after she did it, though, Yuuki felt that she was being watched.

⁂⁂⁂

Torvald Norgaard laid on his back in the waters of Cross Academy's lake, floating there practically invisible to those who acted above. His sister had generated and moved the fog that was aiding in his cover, but she remained along their extraction route rather than joining him on-site. One of them needed to come back from this, at the very least, though he had no doubt that he would be able to slip loose when the time came.

His orders were to get Yuuki Kuran's blood. To 'draw blood' was, at least in theory, not a difficult task. Containing it and getting away with it without being spotted or caught was more difficult-- fortunately, the one who had the highest chance of thwarting it had not made an appearance. Probably, Torvald thought, he had been sent to help with the fire.

A burst of psychokinetic force abruptly cleared the air around the gatehouse of one of the two dormitory bridges-- and that was like a signal flare as to her position. To begin with, Torvald had found Yuuki's scent to be strong enough to detect even through the smoke and heavy air, but even he couldn't track it precisely in these conditions. Now, however, he had a marker. A flare of power. Do or die time.

Twin tendrils of water snaked up into the air, swirling violently as they reached a height to be viewed from the bridges. At its apex several jets of water were ejected from the top, their pressure rapidly adjusted as they went. The streams of water cut through the second floor wall and window, and found their mark.

There could be no mistaking the strike's success. The smell of a Pureblood's essence saturating the grounds would more than likely even reach a few of the more sharp-nosed vampires down in town. The feeling of the water he had launched hitting a surface reached him an instant later.

An older Pureblood, or one who had been more exposed to the world at large, would not be daunted by this. No matter how badly he 'injured' one, Torvald did not have the power to kill them. But if there was one thing that was true about the Kuran heiress, it was that she had not experienced any of the unpleasant firsts of a Pureblood.

The first 'serious' injury, the first loss of a limb, the first decapitation, the first full-body trauma or even destruction. Yes, they could endure, but until they had for the first time the understanding of the experience remained foreign and terrifying, which is why no counter-attack of psychokinetic force came.

He swished the water around blindly until he felt the "impurities" of contact with blood. Gathering the blood up into the flow of his water, Torvald guided it out the window and into the lake he waited in, allowing himself to plunge beneath its depths.

⁂⁂⁂

Jets of water that could have sliced through solid bricks of metal arced through the wall of the classroom. Yuuki gestured reflexively towards Maria, a small effort of psychokinesis sending her and the desk she sat in screeching wildly to the opposite wall, overturning there and leaving its occupant rattled and disoriented. An instant later she felt a flash of pain along her right bicep and blinked uncomprehendingly at where her arm used to be.

"Ah..." Yuuki's initial reaction was muted, shocked. Then the actual sensation of it hit her. The pain came on so abruptly and so intensely that she didn't even have the energy to scream. She staggered backwards into the wall, groping at her stump in a panic. Her breathing became heavy, fast, and harsh, her consciousness fading in and out while she tried to cope with the sudden trauma.

The cut was immaculately clean, and the detached appendage lay on the floor where she had been struck, its structure slowly beginning to crystallize and crack apart now that it was separated from the core of its vitality. Yuuki heard the water slosh around the room but didn't have the wherewithal to do anything about it. She barely noticed that it had gone out of its way to collect her pooling blood on the way out.

It was only when somebody grabbed her left hand that she managed to collect herself enough to consider her surroundings again. Maria had crawled across the bloodslicked and watery floor to settle in against her uninjured side, and now held her hand in both of her own. She might've been saying something -- in fact, Yuuki was sure she was -- but the words did not register so much as the soothing tone they were spoken in.

Somebody had attacked her.

Somebody had attacked **her territory**.

There was a flash of light outside the window, followed by a clap of thunder that told her Rima had just attacked nearby-- probably the enemy that had just struck at her, but Yuuki couldn't tell for certain. The scent of that person had vanished as soon as his water had withdrawn from this very room. Probably, she thought, he had fled using the same ability that let him attack her from surprise. But his subordinates were still here. She could practically taste their interest in the potent blood that had been spilled so suddenly.

The first of the ferals to break off from the group harassing the Sun dormitory made it halfway across the bridge before she caught it. It crawled up to the top of the gatehouse and began to leap towards the end of the bridge, and at that point it was hers. With a clear arc of travel, Yuuki snatched the miserable creature from the air and floated it through the window. By the time it came to a rest -- whirling and thrashing in panic, held in an invisible bubble -- her arm had reformed.

"Thank you, Maria," she said, getting up.

Maria smiled feebly, releasing Yuuki's hand and climbing to her feet unsteadily.

"What are you going to do with it?" Maria asked, of the filthy vagrant spinning in the globe of force.

"I'm going to drink its memories and find out who attacked us," Yuuki answered.

⁂⁂⁂

Toga cycled his repeater and surveyed the teacher's quarters. He himself was relatively untouched, only bearing splatters of blood from off-centre shots that had caused some close-distance spray. But he'd had a few injuries occur under his watch before he managed to get on top of the situation, and that happened to include one of his own apprentices-- not that it was serious enough to earn anything but a passing scolding for poor vigilance.

It hadn't been, but he wasn't about to acknowledge that.

Zero had burst in a minute or two ago and begun clearing immediately. They had the ferals caught in between them, and neither of them was a bad enough shot that they would miss at this range unless it was a tactical mistake. A series of jagged bite marks turned Zero's left shoulder and collar into a grotesque ruin that looked a great deal worse than it actually was. Most of the bites were shallow, only one having been a proper grab-- and Zero had allowed that one to happen. When the feral had clamped down to drink, he had stopped pretending to be overpowered and shot it in the head. It hadn't had a chance to blink before it was dust.

"Keep the pressure on and she'll be fine. We should be able to move her to the medical center soon," Toga said to the faculty surrounding his one wounded colleague, shouldering his rifle and headed towards the front door.

"W-wait, you're just leaving us?" A teacher that Zero recognized as one of the history professors exclaimed.

"You aren't endangered anymore," Zero said, following after Toga.

"How can you--"

"We're sure," Toga interjected, carelessly slamming the door behind them.

They passed by the Sun dorm on their way to the bridge. Piles of dust and empty clothes sat near windows and at the front door. Toga snorted at the sight of them and remarked, "Kaito is getting the cleanest results, as always."

"He probably... bled somebody to make them attack more recklessly," Zero speculated.

"At least he used bait that wasn't 'himself'," Toga jabbed, swinging his rifle forward one-handed and casually dusting one of the ferals that had begun to run for the main campus.

Another disappeared an instant later when Bloody Rose's muzzle rose and flashed a brilliant pink. Zero replied, "My life is on the line either way. In light of that, it's easier to gamble on my own safety."

"Is Kaien back from his visit with Lord Shoto yet?" Toga asked.

"No. He's due back this morning. They did their homework."

Toga clicked his tongue in annoyance.

⁂⁂⁂

Elizabeth received her brother several minutes after he submerged himself upstream. He had used his command of water to rocket himself along the river at high speeds, concealing himself and his prize in a bubble of relative safety. He emerged onto the bank with a swirling sphere of bloodied water suspended between his hands. She twisted the cylindrical container she was carrying open and presented the opening to him.

Nodding at her, Torvald directed the water into the container. Once it was inside he made a swirling motion with his right hand, pointing up towards the sky. The water separated itself from the blood within, and Elizabeth snapped the container shut with a hiss. For the briefest instant Yuuki Kuran's scent drifted out, overwhelmingly powerful, and then it was sealed away.

They walked down the riverbank a ways, to the boat that had brought them this far upstream without running afoul of the observed routes into Cross Academy's vicinity.

"Lord Rido will be pleased," Elizabeth said, over the hum of the engine.

"When that man is pleased, people die," Torvald muttered, grumpily.

"Yes. Even so, I believe in Lord Asato," Elizabeth replied.

Torvald nodded, and said, "I just want to leave that godforsaken mountain."

Uneasily, Elizabeth turned the sealed canister over in her hands and wondered, "Still... even if he's difficult, don't you feel sorry for him?"

"Rido is perfectly charming when he isn't going completely off the fucking deep end, Eliza. On his best year that's a sixty-fourty split in favor of lunacy. Sometimes I'm not sure he's aware of when he is," Torvald growled, snatching the canister and tucking it under the seats.

"Surely you mean where," she said, trying and failing not to look offended at having their prize snatched from her.

"No," Torvald said, "sometimes he just starts talking to his parents. It's like he's gone back three thousand years in his own head."

⁂⁂⁂

The rest of the day at Cross Academy was spent in clean-up and damage control. Class was held only in the evening, once enough students and teachers had their memories modified that it was reasonable to start letting some of them go. The Day class only had a half-day of classes because of this. Night class custodians swept the grounds collecting ashes and the effects of the ferals that had fought on the grounds-- there had been around twenty of them, some of which were picked off by the Prefects in an end-of-day sweep.

The firefighting team composed of Hanabusa, Akatsuki, and Claudia had reported back a little after the fighting on the grounds had wound down. What they reported was that there were two ferals in the area, though there were signs that more had been there before the fighting had begun. The speculation was that more were intended to be ambushers, but they decided the school looked like better hunting grounds. The three were a bit scratched up, but had prevented any serious injuries from occurring.

The feral that Yuuki had caught, rather than being consumed for the purposes of acquiring its memories, had been shut away in a secure room in the basement of the Moon dormitories-- for the time being, anyway. The idea of using it to study the condition of Level E had been drafted, but for the most part it was put there simply because Yuuki couldn't stomach the thought of actually eating it.

A collective meeting of the "in the know" faculty had not been called.

"I don't want to go over this twice. Your instructions for now are to get things back to normal. Yuuki, Zero, resume normal duties. Kaito, Ichiru, patrol the main building," Toga had said, lighting a cigarette and taking off towards the main building himself.

It was with comical mundanity that the nightly rotation took place later that night. Zero Kiryu stood at the gates, sorely wishing that he wasn't wearing a tailored uniform with the multiple bites along his shoulder, and only loosely following the passage of students. He was a little surprised that Yuuki didn't join him, since she usually came to sit with him until he locked up the Sun dorm gatehouse. He could feel her across the lake, at the Moon gatehouse, but she never moved as he anticipated she would.

Yuuki sat alone at the Moon gatehouse, feeling thoroughly miserable. She couldn't help but feel as if she should have been able to prevent this, or at the least, limit the damage better than she did. On top of that, she couldn't help but imagine what her blood might be used for. Even if somebody simply drank it, it would give them great power. What if it was for some powerful blood magic, though? That could be even worse.

Then there was Zero. She'd wanted to talk with him all day, and at the same time dreaded it. As it came closer, it seemed like a monolith, a frightening thing. It had been months since "that" incident, but she had managed to reel it in across that time. Climbing with him one weekend, being taught how to fight another-- and even when her thirst faded into the back of her mind, still it troubled her.

Now, Yuuki had a powerful need. She'd been hurt, and made substantial use of her powers. She felt drained, and on top of that-- on top of that!

Footsteps interrupted her out of her train of thought. Maria Kurenai stood on the other side of the gate, undeniably early. She crouched down beside the bars and reached out to touch Yuuki on the shoulder.

Yuuki blinked.

"Thank you, for thinking of putting me to work earlier. I, um..." Maria withdrew her hand and rotated her parasol nervously, "I actually did manage to get more out of the birds after the fighting ended. Our lake runs out into a river, you see, and there was something very noisy out there recently. I decided to pick a bird to use and follow the river, and I saw a boat headed down river. There were two people, red haired. I know it's not much, but..."

 _But_ , Yuuki completed the thought in her head, _it was something to go by._

She was too worn out to offer the kind of sunny smiles she was normally known for, but Yuuki still offered a dimly pleased little grin. She replied, "Thank you, Maria. I thought maybe we'd let them get away entirely, if I couldn't..."

"No," Maria interrupted her, "it's hard to eat something like that. They're so... jumbled up. Lost. And even if we're not allowed to drink them, there are so many more tasty flavors here to dream of. I know some people will say that the Princess should be able to do something like that without flinching, but I think the Princess deserves to be a person too."

"A Princess should still be able to protect her subjects," Yuuki corrected, dismally.

"You did," Maria replied, standing back up and hooking her parasol onto her arm.

After a few minutes of silence, Yuuki rose and unlocked the gatehouse door, pulling it open for Maria and the Night class students that were beginning to file down the bridge. She nodded at Maria, hoping that she had seemed grateful, and returned to her seat.

Maria nodded back and carried on her way, popping her parasol open as she left.

⁂⁂⁂

Rido Kuran paced in anticipation as the group of hemothaumaturges filed down into the basement, with Elizabeth and Torvald right on their heels. A part of him wondered whether or not he was making the right choice. True, relieving the Binding of Mortality would offer him more mobility, but he would still be singular. Unable to act indirectly with his own hand at the wheel. No matter how powerful he was, he knew that it was unwise to move without any support at all. By lifting the Binding of Plurality he could become many-in-one, and his 'supportive' selves need be no more vulnerable than he.

And the possibilities of variety! It had been a long time since he had been able to taste freely. The Shiki woman, of course-- well, she was tasty enough. Elizabeth and Torvald were no fun, but they weren't terrible either. The rest of the servants were like drinking dust.

The question gnawed at him. He could change his mind. Right now. A little effort and he would be downstairs ahead of them, and they could adjust. No problem at all. But just as Rido was about to hurry downstairs, he smelled something. It was like nothing -- no, it was like only one thing that he had smelled before.

Down below the sealed, chilled container in which Yuuki Kuran's blood had been transported was opened. Even from far, far away it was a scent that drew Rido in with a dreadful gravity, like a planet, a star, a singularity. He found himself falling towards it, and then it was gone. When next Rido was able to muster a coherent thought he found himself hovering over the chrysanthemum sigil that had just been rendered inert. Her blood, that beautiful nectar, had wound its way through and wiped away the blood of his father, cancelling the seal that he had placed on his eldest millennia ago.

"What. Did. You. **DO**?!" Rido screamed and spat, seizing the nearest hemothaumaturge and drawing him in. It was a smell like cinnamon and hearth, homey, and sweet and comfortable. He wanted it back so badly that the loosening of his consciousness barely registered to him. The pitiful whelp explained that they'd released him, and it occurred to Rido to tear him apart for his impertinence, because that wasn't what he had MEANT to be answered.

The state of his ethereal being spread back out, no longer occupying merely the space of his body but spilling out beyond it. It was a quality of having more that only a Pureblood Vampire truly experienced, and would be impossible for anyone else to understand. Rido flowed from his singular form, like water overflowing from being poured into a glass too small.

Wolves and bats began to split off from his body in droves, squeaking and flying up the stairways, scrabbling together in packs without true individuality but still a sense of coordinated cooperation. These minuscule motes of his being, fragments, avatars, incarnations, they tore off into the world without a second thought or the slightest restraint.

The true Rido swayed on the spot, releasing the hemothaumaturge he had been berating seconds before and appearing to lose all motivation. Elsewhere he was tearing the throat from a rabbit that had strayed across his path, greedily swooping down upon and devouring insects, and chasing the scent of a hunter that had strayed unwisely into the upper reaches of his domain. The last of him bounded down the distinctive scent trail of Asato Ichijo, following it at speed, deeply curious about where his friend and rescuer lived.

Drunk on all the other places and things he could be, taste, and experience, Rido could hardly be bothered to manage his actual body just now.

⁂⁂⁂

Zero arrived at the Moon gate a short while after Maria left. If he was troubled by Yuuki's absence at the Sun gate, he gave no external sign of it. He offered her his hand and said, "Class is soon. We should go."

The reality of classes seemed foreign to Yuuki after the morning's events. It was necessary, of course, that they be able to get things back to normal as soon as possible, and everything happened early enough in the morning that it didn't disrupt the next period for the Night class at all. Even so, it felt as if... as if they should have been sent 'home' for the day. She took his hand and got up, chewing on her lip and trying to decide what to say to him.

That smell of home cooking filled her whole world.

They began to walk towards the main building, filtering past other students of the Night class as they went. Realizing that she would soon be completely unable to communicate what she needed to with Zero if she didn't just spit it out, she seized the sleeve of his jacket and pulled to get him to stop.

Claudia went past with Aido and Kain, talking about what had happened that morning.

"I need you," Yuuki said. That was the part of her that was desperately hungry speaking, and her face flooded with color immediately after the words left her lips.

Zero blinked at her.

"N-no, that's not... I just need to talk with you in private after class. Okay?" Yuuki corrected herself, looking up at him hopefully.

"That's fine."

Sometimes, Zero's tendency towards minimalist conversation was helpful. There was nobody Yuuki knew who was easier to communicate quickly with. But when it came to exchanges like this one, Yuuki really wished that she could peek into the inside of his mind and learn what he actually thought about what she said. These next few hours were going to feel painfully long.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"No," Yuuki admitted.

Zero nodded, and replied, "If you like, we can skip class."

Yuuki hesitated. She would've liked nothing more than to disappear from public view for the rest of the night. But she had a responsibility to carry out. With a defeated sigh, she replied, "No, the Night class needs things to be normal, and that means I need to be around."

He nodded again, and resumed walking. Yuuki fell in next to him as she always did, trying not to look too wilty to anyone who might be watching.

"What do you want to do this weekend?" Zero asked, abruptly.

It was not the sort of question that Zero usually asked, and Yuuki shot him a funny look in response. He would go along with any plan she had, but his claim months prior that he didn't really have the time to develop interests of his own had seemed more-or-less truthful.

"Something that has me moving around. I want to sweat out some of this stress! And then I want a twelve hour bubble bath and a gallon of hot chocolate," she replied.

They continued to talk about weekend activities on their way to class. It only occurred to Yuuki three quarters of the way through their first class that Zero had just succeeded at distracting her without even seeming to try. She glanced back at him, managing to summon up a ghost of her usual smile.


	10. I Need You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yuuki and Zero have an intimate moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Content Warning** : NSFW, heavy sexual themes. Not explicit.
> 
> As a rule, I do not write sexual content for the purposes of having "token smut" of any kind. This is a chapter that is, above all other things, about intimacy, vulnerability, and trust.

* * *

Although she might have been successfully distracted from her worries about the morning's attack, there was one reality that Yuuki was still struggling to stave off: Unrelenting hunger. It must be said that although her self-control was admirable for her circumstances, she was more used than most vampires to eating her fill, and even less used to being surrounded by people who absolutely couldn't afford a bite from her. If any of the Night class students had a dire need, they might have been able to find easy accommodation. Not so for her.

"Where are we going?" Zero asked, a few yards outside of their final class. The temptation to find a classroom that would be abandoned occurred to Yuuki-- but no. That would be silly, they both had private spaces that they were allowed to use as they pleased.

Yuuki murmured, "Is your room okay?"

Zero grunted. She knew it wasn't a refusal, but it was more neutral than she thought it would be.

The Sun dormitory was deserted at this time of night. There were always stragglers or night owls even here, however, so there was always a whisper of chatter coming from one corner or another. The question was merely how tired and quiet they were trying to be. Today, the voices were hushed, nervous-- though most of them could not quite remember the particulars of why.

Zero latched the door behind them and turned to face Yuuki. He didn't need to see her to feel the moment that her aural silhouette became bloody, though even in her worst moments it had never saturated her being so much that it troubled him. Across the hall he could tell Ichiru's flickering silhouette was stirring.

If Ichiru was the only person he had to answer to for this, that was about the best he could hope for.

"I'm... jealous," Yuuki said. It was a difficult thing for her to admit, though not in the usual way. It distressed her because she felt that it was silly, stupid. Enough had gone wrong over the past day, but this was deeply personal.

Zero looked puzzled. He discarded his jacket on a hook next to the door and crossed the room, asking, "Jealous?"

Yuuki followed him closely, wrapping her arms around him from behind when he stopped and resting her head against his back. She issued a barely audible, " _Uh huh_."

"I don't understand."

A gentle tug at her arms prompted Yuuki to reluctantly loosen her grip. She was already restraining herself approaching him from this direction, where it was harder for her to get thoughtlessly aggressive. Rather than extricate himself however, Zero turned and enveloped her in a loose embrace. She distantly suspected that he was leaving her in control on purpose by holding her delicately, but whatever the reason was for it, she appreciated it. Burying her face in his chest and inhaling deeply, she took a moment to savor the trust and closeness that was being freely offered before she elaborated.

"Somebody else got their fangs in you first, on my watch, and I hate it," Yuuki complained, turning her head and raising her eyes to look at the spot where, even now, she could smell traces of fresh blood.

"You're jealous that... a feral bit me?" He asked, slowly.

Yuuki nodded against him and looked up into his face. "Because I don't get to. Not ever. And If I did, we'd..."

Somebody would try to use it as an excuse to get rid of both of them. Their names were prominent enough in each of their communities that there were plenty of enemies who would assert the laws of each of their societies designed to dispose of liabilities. Even if it didn't work it would cause an awful lot of trouble.

"I know it's dumb," she said, dejectedly.

"It isn't," he reassured her.

"It's horrible," she retorted.

Zero made a noise that Yuuki only perceived because her ear was pressed to his chest. It sounded like discontent.

After what felt like an eternity he lifted his left hand, running his fingers through her hair and caressing her cheek. Yuuki leaned into his touch, as entranced by the instinctual hope for a drink as she was by the intimate attention he was giving her.

"It's not... as if we've sat down and talked about it. Even so, if..." Zero hesitated.

Yuuki looked up attentively, her eyes still glowing a hungry, bloody red. She could even see the shine of it reflected in his eyes.

"... if someone were to kiss you, I would be jealous, too," he admitted.

Just from the way he said it, Yuuki could tell that it had cost him something to say so. She didn't understand why it was so difficult for him to talk about these things, but it always pleased her to hear him try. In this particular case the confession was enough to make her feel considerably less silly, and to send a shiver down her spine.

The predatory part of her began to make demands, insistent, hungry, domineering. Yuuki drew back from Zero, sliding her arms from around him. Her hands lingered momentarily at his sides, giving his shirt a delicate tug to untuck it. From there she dragged her fingers up his sides, towards the front of his shirt. Slowly she began to ball up her hands, scrunching the shirt within them.

As lost as she was in the moment, and as pliable as Zero seemed to be right now, Yuuki still looked up at him-- and in spite of herself it was a shy little glance. It would've been easier, infinitely easier, to just let instincts carry them. But she felt filthy the last time she did that, and even considering it just now caused a pang of guilt to pierce through the haze of shamelessness that this state usually inspired.

"Is it okay?" Yuuki heard herself ask.

Zero was taking this exchange in what appeared to be his usual stoic manner. But now that she had asked that question, the reality of it seemed to have settled in. From his point of view it felt like a faint electrical current had been run through his body where she had begun to touch him, and across his face as well.

The sight of the faint flushing across his cheeks drew out a tiny, muffled laugh from Yuuki. It was such a strange thing, to think of Zero as anything as normal as embarrassed by an awkward situation.

"It's okay," he confirmed.

Yuuki steadily urged him backwards, guiding him back towards his bed. It was only once the back of his legs bumped up against the side of the mattress that she pushed him back forcefully.

It was easy to forget how strong Yuuki really was, even if she wasn't actually exercising considerable strength just now. It might have been that he knew how to use his strength better than she did, but he knew that if it came to a contest of sheer power she would win handily. Zero fell back onto the mattress with a light creak of springs, and for an instant he simply admired the imperious figure that stood above him. After a couple of seconds he scooted back a bit from the edge, to help accommodate her.

She climbed onto the bed after him, the alarmed squeak of the mattress beneath their combined weight providing a sharp reminder that there was still some care that had to be taken here. Yuuki surveyed him for a moment, judging her options. She really hadn't considered the mechanics of this. Maybe it would've been better to...

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"N-n-nothing, I just..." Yuuki replied, failing to complete the thought.

"... Yeah," he agreed, in spite of the lack of spoken clarity.

Yuuki huffed in frustration and simply straddled him, crawling forward until she was at what she judged to be a comfortable spot. Her hair spilled down around her, shrouding and tickling his face.

Zero snorted in amusement, pushing some of Yuuki's hair aside.

She pouted at him, tempted to challenge him to take the lead if he thought he could do better. If she did, she knew that he would probably take her up on it, and she was enjoying her dominance a little too much just now. Yuuki sat back against him, raking her fingertips down his chest and stopping at his stomach.

Then she slid forward again, coming to a rest within reach of his tie. Yuuki fumbled slightly as she worked it loose, slipping it free of his neck with haste that she had not troubled with the last time. She licked her lips, claiming the top button of his shirt--

But before she could continue, Zero had begun to tug her cravat loose. As he did so she inspected him, and her eyes found something that she knew he wore but which she hadn't considered. Yuuki frowned and reached down to tug at his shoulder harness.

"H-hey, how does this even..." Yuuki mumbled, searching for a buckle or clasp.

Zero pulled her cravat free and replied, "I'll have to sit up to get that."

Yuuki couldn't help herself. She laughed as she slid to one side of him, and remarked, "You could've said so earlier."

Zero sat up and disentangled himself from his harness, extracting Bloody Rose from it and depositing it next to his pillow. He agreed, "Maybe so. While we're dealing with these sorts of things..."

At first Yuuki thought that Zero was simply moving incredibly fast. His hand brushed the edge of her skirt-- but he didn't grab _her_. She felt the weight against her leg shift as Artemis was taken from her thigh holster, and the rising heat in her face rapidly abated.

He only seemed to realize his mistake once he'd deposited Artemis next to Bloody Rose. Noticing the fading look of shock on her face, Zero offered a sheepish, "Sorry."

She shook her head dismissively, moving Artemis farther from Bloody Rose and the edge of the bed before returning her attention to Zero.

"Anything else?" Yuuki asked, seriously.

Zero looked away, contemplating the question. He nodded and said, "Shoes."

They both slid to the edge of the bed and kicked off their shoes. Yuuki's boots hit the floor a little too heavily, eliciting a nervous grimace from her before she nudged them underneath the bed with her foot.

Yuuki, who was now thoroughly done with these diversions, coaxed Zero back to where he was previously reclined and climbed back on top of him. Heaving an impatient sigh, she resumed unbuttoning his shirt. In the pleasant haze of what they were doing the injury he had received had almost slipped her mind again, but once he shrugged out of the shirt she was faced with bandaging along one of his shoulders.

Before she could do anything with that, though, Zero had begun to unfasten her uniform's jacket. It wasn't long before she was down to her blouse, and that only for the tiniest space of time longer. She ran her hand along the bandaging, which seemed to prompt Zero to slow down.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked.

"Don't you dare," Yuuki breathed, though her voice was not as bold as her words.

Zero hummed affirmatively and said, "If you're hungry, go ahead. Just don't bite."

She began to feel distinctly awkward when he helped her out of her own shirt. It wasn't that Yuuki didn't know what she had gotten herself into, but it was all very new, and she was starting to feel overexposed. She focused on removing his bandages, extending her nails temporarily into short claws to help her along in the process, discarding the loosed bandages in a small bin she spotted next to the nearest nightstand.

Her claws came to rest against the not-quite-closed puncture wounds. While she was doing this, Zero had started to run his hands along her sides, his thumbs gliding gently along her tummy and drawing out an involuntary jerk and awkward giggle from brief contact with a ticklish spot Yuuki didn't even know she had until that precise moment.

"No tickling," she insisted, in a tone that only pretended to be stern.

He made another acknowledging noise. "Let me sit up if you're going to draw blood."

Yuuki climbed off him for what felt like the millionth time, watching him expectantly while he propped up a pair of impossibly thin pillows. She settled back onto his lap as soon as he was situated, some of her rising discomfort evaporating with her impatience for a drink.

She set her nails gingerly against the fresh wound, seeing no reason to create an altogether new one for her use, and glanced at him for an indication he was ready. Zero nodded, and Yuuki dug in with as much care as a person could while trying to draw blood. She hardly noticed him wince.

Licking her fingers clean, Yuuki leaned forward to halt the threat of messy dripping by lapping at the droplets where they flowed, pausing a moment in annoyance to blow her hair out of the way. Once she had the branching trickles under control she began to alternate between ravenously seeking out more and planting tiny kisses that she hoped eased the discomfort of the injury.

Avoiding the spots that had previously provoked involuntary laughter, Zero wound his arms around Yuuki and ran his fingers along her back. Her breath caught at the sensation of his fingers tracing a path along her spine to the small of her back, bringing her up away from his shoulder with a soft whine. Looking into his face, she found that the glow which had previously reflected in his eyes was gone.

Zero had been so gentle and passive so far that Yuuki was surprised to be drawn into a sudden and close embrace. She pressed herself flush against him, the thrill of the moment still managing to override her rising anxiety at the uncharted waters she was entering. He kissed her tentatively at first, then with greater confidence. Her face and lips were still sticky with his blood, the coppery liquid mixing strangely with Yuuki's own unique taste.

 _Well,_ he thought, _I suppose that's the way it's going to be._

His rare moment of initiative was thrown on its head when Yuuki answered his attempt to retreat and catch his breath by snaring his lower lip between hers. The subtle sharpness of fangs stood out to Zero for an instant, but just by the pleased look she wore when his eyes widened he knew that she was only teasing him.

Yuuki nuzzled against Zero's neck when she finally consented to break apart, each of them panting to catch their breath. The tug of his left hand lifting her bra away from her back precipitated a sudden surge of butterflies, prompting her to begin lazily nipping at his neck, raising goosebumps where her lips dragged across his skin. With the utmost reluctance she backed away enough to slip the unhooked undergarment loose and discard it off the edge of the bed.

Rather than resting herself against him again, Yuuki remained upright, running her nails down his chest and slowly venturing lower. Her hands shook as she reached a peak of nervousness, fumbling at his belt buckle with an audible rattling.

Before she could brute force her way through it, though, Zero brought his hands to rest over hers and halted her progress.

"It's fine. This is getting to be a little too quick for me, too," he told her.

A part of Yuuki was disappointed, frustrated even. The other had already pushed to the edge of her comfort zone, and while she _quite_ enjoyed it, she found herself perfectly happy with not pushing it. No longer faced with something she wasn't quite ready for yet, Yuuki finished unbuckling his belt and pulled it loose anyway. He blinked up at her in surprise, not quite certain how to take that response.

"Ah? You were going to take it off anyway, right?" She asked.

"I suppose," Zero granted. He picked her up as easily and as lightly as if she were the pillows he leaned back on, depositing her on the bed. Already being most of the way there, he shucked off his trousers and threw them atop his laundry bag.

He hesitated, then asked, "Are you staying?"

It was the first time that Yuuki had heard a note of hopefulness in his voice-- at least, in the way she'd heard it from other people. She nodded. "If that's okay."

"Yeah."

Yuuki watched him go about what she assumed must be a nightly ritual of some sort. He draped what she assumed was tomorrow's clothes across the back of a rickety chair, but he retrieved one shirt more than was necessary, along with a glass of water, before he returned to the bed.

Zero sat back down and put out the light, offering Yuuki the water. She sipped a little before offering it back, and he drained about a quarter of the glass before setting it aside. He offered her the shirt and said, "If you want something to sleep in."

They both had a mildly warped sleeping schedule for their respective species by now, because of their Prefect duties-- and at this moment, the weariness of what had been required of them recently still weighed heavily on them.

Yuuki took the offered shirt and slid out of bed, removing what remained of her uniform and replacing it with his shirt. It was tremendously oversized for her, but that made it a comfortable enough nightgown for her. Before she settled in she plucked a partial roll of gauze that was sitting on the bedside table next to her, and padded around to the other side of the bed.

She leaned over him and lapped up the last traces of fresh blood that lingered on the surface of Zero's shoulder. To her satisfaction this act was answered with a shiver, of the kind that he had managed to draw out from her several times across the night. A little clumsily she wound the gauze around his shoulder, accepting his guidance wordlessly when he adjusted how she was doing it.

When she returned to the opposite side of the bed and crawled beneath the blankets, Yuuki drew them up to just beneath her nose and watched Zero in silence. He was barely more dressed than she had been a few moments prior, wearing only a pair of grey-and-black boxer-briefs that left blessedly little to the imagination.

Eventually he turned around and slid beneath the blankets, relocating Bloody Rose to his bedside table and offering Artemis to Yuuki. She deposited it in one of her boots, which was poking out from beneath the bed just enough to be a convenient receptacle. The bed creaked with the motion of Yuuki turning back over to face Zero-- finding him, to her surprise, already resting on his side facing her.

"Can I tell you something?" He asked.

"Anything," she replied.

Zero nodded, scooting over closer to Yuuki so he could drape one arm over her. The sensation of being held like this was as new as anything, and though neither had very much left to be embarrassed by at this point, it was beyond either of them not to blush.

"It feels nice," he said, "to be wanted for..."

He shut his eyes and inclined his head until it rested against hers. Yuuki slid her arms around him, heedless of the discomfort that sleeping like this might bring her if they remained this way. But something told her that now was not the time to urge or encourage any further than this. She waited, patiently.

Zero swallowed harshly. It was, Yuuki thought, as if he was confronting some terrible truth or monster that dogged his steps. A fear, like any of hers, only... the ways that he was strong were totally unsuited to handling such a thing. She could conjure up images of his utter indifference to being stabbed, even being bitten, of the soothing confidence with which he handled her at her most dangerous. All of those things should have given him the pause that saying this one thing **was** giving him.

"For... something besides being able to become 'the strongest killer'." 

His words struck Yuuki like a blow to her chest. She thought, instantly, of how he had told her he didn't really have time for hobbies, about how much he sometimes tensed if he was touched when he wasn't prepared to be. The lonely silhouette of his figure at the end of the unlit target range, clearing his head to the crack of a gunshot. The whole idea of it made her sick and sad and furious for him all at once.

Yuuki placed her hand against his cheek and kissed him. It was not the lustful exchange that each previous kiss had been, but a silent reassurance of her affection-- and where that affection came from.

"The part of you that I admire the most," she whispered, lingering so close that her lips brushed his when she spoke, "is the part that knows it would be safer to treat a problem as a threat and chooses to be gentle and kind anyway."

She felt him smile, but he said nothing more. Neither remained awake for much longer, and though the myriad discomforts and challenges that all couples discover the first time they share a bed with their partner soon presented themselves, the weight of the previous day's fatigue outweighed by far numb arms and unconscious stirring.


	11. Ascertain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lars returns to report to Kaname, Kaien and Toga discuss an oddity of the attack on Cross Academy, Rido pursues a new plaything, and Sayori Wakaba insists on discussing the memory modification situation with Yuuki and Zero.

Kaname had not been certain that Lars would return to him as-ordered. Not that he expected his new servant to find a way to disobey, but rather, that he wondered if he would be discovered and perish. But he was pleased to observe the curiously ordinary scent approaching, his features tinged with uncertainty. That was only natural, since he did not leave Lars with the memories necessary to identify him.

A small housecat, one of Kaname's familiars, wound around the man's legs. It delivered a command through the creature, guiding Lars to where Kaname's true body was. It was only the moment that Lars closed the back door of the nondescript limousine that he returned the man's memories to him.

"I see that you're still alive," Kaname observed.

Lars rubbed his temple in sudden aggravation and reclined on the opposite bench. The driver pulled the car away from the curb and raised the privacy barrier between the cab and the back of the vehicle.

"Yeah," Lars said after a while, "had a few close calls, though."

"You shouldn't have. The Ichijo family is not in regular contact with anyone who could identify you."

"Things have changed," Lars said, glancing at one of the bottles of amber liquid stashed in the limo's rear.

Kaname obliged him wordlessly, plucking the bottle delicately from where it sat and pouring its contents into a small glass provided in the same mini-bar. He passed the drink to Lars and reclined again, smiling pleasantly.

"There's a Pureblood roaming around the grounds, not wearing their own body," Lars said, sniffing the contents of the glass before taking a swig. He gestured with the glass, "Wolves, bats. I'd have thought they were just animals acting up, but they act too strange. Whoever it is isn't bothering to act normal, and they're...

He shuddered, "Savage. Terrible. I thought one of the wolves was sizing me up to eat me, once."

"That would seem to be normal wolf behavior to me," Kaname said, replacing the bottle in the mini-bar.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you? If it was just the one thing acting oddly, I'd brush it off. That one's not subtle. Tearing up dens of rabbits, yes, but Lord Ichijo also let it have the run of the house. One of them went down in the cellar and drank a whole cask of wine straight from the tap," Lars said.

It was such a comically absurd description that Kaname had to stifle a chuckle behind the back of his hand. He said, "Well, that tells me that Lord Ichijo has a pureblood patron. That seems to line up with the goal of disrupting Cross Academy, and there aren't that many of us, so I should be able to narrow it down with a little research. And you haven't seen this individual in a human form?"

"No. Just wolves and bats."

Kaname nodded. "What else?"

Lars downed the rest of his drink in one gulp and set the glass aside. He looked exasperated, at his wit's end. He said, "We rounded up a bunch of feral vampires, around twenty of them, kept them in cages. One of us -- I don't know exactly who got the job -- got sent out to help with something at the Cross estate. There was a whole support team to handle the ferals. Come to think of it, that was just before the wolves and bats started turning up."

"Is your family secure?" Kaname asked.

Lars blinked. He rolled a shoulder, "Depends what you mean by that."

"Are they in danger if you should fail to return?"

A look of resignation dominated Lars's features. He slumped down in his seat and said, "Probably not, if I just never show up again."

"... I am not intending to make you commit suicide, I do not intend to send you back. It is just that you may be discovered to be in my employ in the future," Kaname explained, patiently.

"Well why the fuck not?" Lars demanded, firing up angrily. He reached across to the mini-bar, jerking the bottle loose and discarding its stopper to drink directly from it. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and carried on, "Everything smells, my wife smells like the most perfect cinnamon apple pie you could imagine, the nurse down the hall smells like a goddamned buffet, sleeping at night is hell, and the minute this comes out I'll be lucky if I'm the only one who burns for it. What the hell are you waiting for? I'm a spy with a cover that's in tatters."

Kaname allowed Lars to rage and grumble and drink, folding his hands on his lap and listening as politely as if he was being spoken to by a respected professor. Once he was under the impression that the ranting was well and truly done, he replied, "It is my intention to ascertain the disposition of the young lord Ichijo, who is a friend of mine, and then determine whether you would be safe in his employ rather than his father's. I did not wish to leave individuals attached to you in an unfortunate predicament of compromising you regardless of what measures I might take to accommodate you alone."

Not having expected anything near this much consideration, Lars simply looked dumbfounded. He took another swallow of the amber liquid, savoring the way it burned going down, before replacing the stopper and setting it aside. He nodded slowly, having the good grace to look at least a little sorry-- not too much so, because no matter what, he knew himself to be a wronged party. Even if he reasonably expected worse for his failure.

"Shit," Lars exhaled sharply, "I'll just have to make you a list of people. It's not that many, but it's not no one."

"Lars," Kaname spoke like a teacher speaking to an unruly but favored student, "please do not labor under the misapprehension that I am not aware of the position that I have put you in, or what a wretched thing I have done to you. Though I do now **order you to take no action by word or deed to directly or indirectly seek reprisal against me for your transformation or anything I ask you to do** , I am not unreasonable, and I do not mean you unnecessary harm."

He took a deep breath and continued, "I will reward you for your trouble, and if you so wish it I am willing to transform members of your family in order to allow you to share a similar span of time. That is the best that I can give you. The worst that I can give you, as you have already anticipated, is the payment that all failed spies receive."

The limousine wound its way to the edge of town and took the turn that would take it towards Cross Academy.

"Why are we going this way?" Lars asked, nervously.

"To ascertain dispositions," Kaname said. 

⁂⁂⁂

It was still dark out when Yuuki started to stir awake. Her eyes crept open, searching reflexively for the familiar landmarks of her room, but the curtains of her four posters were conspicuously absent and the warm 'something' she was resting her head on instead of Zero's awful flat pillows definitely wasn't a fixture of her own quarters.

The first thought she had was that she could probably fix that, if she just asked. Just asking was how she had ended up in here, after all. Blinking through the first few moments of hazy sleepiness that always come with waking up, she turned her head a little to look at Zero. At some point he had re-situated himself on his back, though one arm remained curled around her. Her head had been resting against his chest, and she was surprised to find that he hadn't woken when she started moving.

His breathing was slow and easy, and the look on his face was uncharacteristically peaceful. Usually, when Yuuki saw him trying to rest in public, she found his expression to be strained. She supposed he just couldn't quite bring himself to fully relax in direct sight of so many people. That he was able to do so with her gave her warm and fuzzy feelings that resonated strongly with the way he smelled to her.

At least... that's how it was until somebody knocked on the door. Yuuki recognized the scent distantly, having shared classes with it quite often. But before she could worry about it very much there was a sharp movement to her side.

Zero had taken Bloody Rose into his hand so quickly that Yuuki wasn't sure she could have gotten through the door and closed distance to the bed if she was moving full tilt at him in the same span of time. He held his breath for a moment, seemed to realize that there wasn't anything hostile happening, and eased back, sliding his finger outside of the trigger guard. He let out an annoyed breath, falling back against his pillow and stowing Bloody Rose underneath it.

Another knock came at the door. It wasn't timid, exactly, but Yuuki would have described it as restrained. As if the person behind it definitely knew that it would be a mistake to aggravate the person in this room, but wasn't going to be scared away if they had a legitimate purpose.

Yuuki sat up, running her nails along Zero's side with the hand that _wasn't_ numb from being laid on all night. He gave an involuntary jerk and a sharp exhalation that she quickly realized was his reaction to unexpectedly being prodded in a ticklish spot. If there weren't somebody waiting on him, she would've been tempted to mess with him a little more intentionally, but as it was it seemed he was going to need a little bit of professional encouragement.

"Zero," she murmured, "we're still prefects. They might really need you."

Zero made an aggravated noise, but got up and partway dressed himself before opening the door just enough to look out into the corridor.

Sayori Wakaba was a Day class student who shared all of Yuuki and Zero's Day scheduled classes with them. She was dressed in lilac-colored floral-print pajamas, but looked otherwise about three quarters of the way through her process of getting ready for the day ahead. She had a way of taking everything in stride that Yuuki found admirable, but she couldn't imagine what business Sayori might have here at this hour.

"May I come in?" Sayori asked.

"Not right now," Zero replied.

This was an unusual answer. Yuuki wouldn't have been surprised if he had simply said 'no', but he took the time to set conditions instead.

"You mean I can have a private chat later?" Sayori inquired further.

"Yes," Zero said.

"You're not going to discuss," Sayori raised both hands to make quote gestures with her fingers, "'major clusters of sensory neurons' with me?"

"Wakaba..." He breathed exasperatedly, sagging wearily against the door and shutting his eyes. Zero knew that she was not somebody who could be bullied, and although they were not exactly close friends, he liked and respected her well enough on top of that.

"I'd like to talk about the attack," Sayori said, as if they were chatting about the weather and she wanted to change the subject to a particularly exciting chapter of a book.

"Go bug Kaito or Ichiru."

"I refuse," she replied.

Zero stared at Sayori irritably.

Sayori smiled, and said, "It's because you're like that, Mr. Kiryu, that I'd rather speak to you. Your brother speaks sweeter but he's more likely to soften what he says 'in good company'. Kaito is almost as rough as you, but his goal in most conversations is to steer the people around him in the direction he wants them to go. You're a big grumpy bear, but you don't pretend much. If you feel like you need to push, you just..."

She tugged at her earlobe illustratively, "... do it."

Yuuki had been able to contain herself up to this point, but here she was forced to try to muffle an involuntary snort into her hand. She was able to navigate the waters of Zero's oddities just fine, but she'd never heard of any ordinary student walking right up and addressing him boldly like that.

"Good morning, Ms. Kuran. I'm sorry if I woke you," Sayori said, before Zero could react to the slip-up.

It was probably just a stab in the dark, but however embarrassed Yuuki was, she couldn't help but be more impressed. Abandoning all pretense she slid out of bed, padding over to the door and peeking out around the edge. She waved at Sayori, who waved back without a concern in the world.

"Fine. Meet me in the wrecked classroom during Day class dinner hours," Zero said, only a little grudgingly. As annoying as it was to deal with when it was laser focused on him in particular, Sayori was one of the most reliable and sharp Day class students. If he had to pick somebody to do a project with, she would be in his top three picks on merit.

Sayori nodded, a subtle look of satisfaction slowly appearing on her features.

"Thank you," she said.

"I like your pajamas," Yuuki breathed.

Her expression of satisfaction briefly replaced with surprise, Sayori flashed Yuuki a small but warm smile and then left.

Zero shut the door and latched it again, turning to look flatly towards Yuuki.

⁂⁂⁂

Toga sat across from Kaien once again, his boots kicked up on the corner of the desk. A presently unlit cigarette hung in his mouth, a matchbook and a single match in his hands. But he had stopped in response to what he had just been told.

"Extinct?" He asked, incredulously.

Kaien nodded gravely. His hands were bridged in front of him, a dusty old tome spread out on his desk underneath his elbows. He said, "The Norgaard family was the only line of noble vampires that possessed the characteristic of water manipulation. Although the Aido family is able to produce and manipulate water as a solid, that is an ability that was developed in isolation from the Norgaard. So far as we know, that particular lineage was snuffed out some fifteen hundred years ago during a minor civil war that resulted from a level D vampire being elected Head of the Council. The Norgaard were royalists who, along with the Rajala and Makinen families, took a stand and attempted to assassinate the Head Councilman before his swearing in ceremony."

"All three clans," he continued, "were supposedly killed in battle. Isaya's family was notable for proactive assistance of the Councilman at the time. Have you ever heard of Aallotar?"

Toga took the time to light his cigarette and snuff out the match before he answered. He nodded and said, "Vampire fairy story. A long lost Princess."

"That's right," Kaien replied, "but one of the possibilities we're looking at is that the story was true. The youngest daughter of the Norgaard survived, and they are only now resurfacing."

"And the other possibilities?"

"The independent appearance of a bloodline with a similar ability," Kaien ticked off a finger, "the engineering of such an ability through hemothaumaturgy, or perhaps a Pureblood who managed to devour one of them and actualize the Norgaard ability since... or pass it onto their own descendants somehow."

Toga pulled his boots down off of the desk and leaned towards his left side, resting his fist against his face and shutting his eyes. He replied, "And we're banking on the one that is the least complicated."

Kaien nodded. "I think we can rule out a pureblood being directly involved. If that was the case, Yuuki would've been very badly hurt. As it is..."

They both glanced at the wall behind Toga. Neither of them could 'see' through it precisely, but the aural silhouette of a Pureblood lingering there earlier had been impossible for them to ignore. Or rather, impossible for them to ignore if it wasn't on purpose.

Toga removed his cigarette briefly and cleared his throat, looking back towards Kaien. He said, "So the 'enemy' is most likely to be a royalist faction thought fifteen hundred years dead, with unknown benefactors and allies."

"Well," Kaien said, "we've both had worse intel than that."

"Doesn't make it less of a pain in my ass." Toga said.

"It may also be that the royalist angle isn't relevant anymore. Attacking the former King's granddaughter would be unthinkable for true royalists."

Taking a long drag on his cigarette, Toga mulled it over. He had a thought, but it wasn't a pleasant one, and he wasn't sure that Kaien would take it well. On the other hand, he doubted the discomfort of that conversation would outweigh the cost of ignoring the possibility and being wrong about it.

"Do you have eyes on Kaname?" He asked.

⁂⁂⁂

Only one thing had stopped Rido from occupying his familiars all day every day since the release of the Binding of Plurality. He sat with the empty container that had borne the blood which released him tucked beneath his elbow. The faintest echo of its scent served as a point-of-reference to bring him back to his body, even when his thoughts were stirred into a frenzy. Contemplating it, his mouth watered. If it would have helped him in the slightest, he would have demanded Elizabeth or Torvald give him some of their blood. But neither had the richness or texture that he needed at this particular moment.

Perhaps Asato... but no. There was no sense in risking killing his current benefactor. At least, not just yet. Whether he could maintain that sort of self-control once he was further unbound, Rido did not know. He was fond of Asato, but being fond of anything had never stopped him from destroying it.

But there was _someone_...

A woman who had been promised to him, before he was bound. They had never met directly, but unless something especially grisly had occurred she would still be around. Rido pushed the container underneath his arm back and forth with a finger. If he _was_ to soon be free, and assume his father's discarded role, a relationship like that might be mended until it was no longer necessary. After that, adding her life to his own would be a great boon.

Smiling to himself, Rido dispatched a bat to the surface.

Torvald was in the middle of reviewing the plans for obtaining the keys to the other bindings -- skeptically, because none of them were as plausible to accomplish, and the only other child of the Kuran family was conspicuously missing from Kaien Cross's mad project -- when the bat settled on his shoulder.

"Yes, Lord Rido?" He asked.

"Find Shizuka Hio. Extend her an invitation on my behalf to discuss our prior engagement," Rido's voice emanated from the bat. It was more like the bat was acting as a speaker than the bat itself was speaking. It still made noises consistent with an ordinary bat.

Closing the folder that was laid out on his desk, Torvald took a deep breath and asked, "Is this an invitation, or do you insist?"

"I would like her to come here of her own will, if possible. If she adamantly refuses, we will discuss options," Rido replied.

Rising from his chair, Torvald nodded and headed towards the scent of his sister. He had some explaining to do before he left. The bat departed from his shoulder shortly after, and as he passed from Rido's attention, he couldn't help but think of what he had said just a short while ago now.

_When that man smiles, people die._

He wondered if Rido was smiling, and who exactly would be the casualties this time if so.

⁂⁂⁂

Zero sat on the edge of one of the desks in the damaged second floor classroom, eating a bowl of instant noodles. Across from him Sayori was working on a sandwich of some kind that Yuuki couldn't identify at a glance, though the fruit parfait cup nestled in a corner of her lunch box had caught her eye immediately. There seemed to be some silent understanding between the pair that Yuuki had missed out on.

After a while, Yuuki said, "Um... is something the matter, or--"

"It's rude to talk with your mouth full," Sayori said, smiling.

Yuuki was glad for that, because otherwise she might have suspected she was being teased. She replied, "A-ah, of course... But even so, people _do_ talk over meals."

"What do you want, Wakaba?" Zero asked.

"I want you to go easier on the memory modifications," Sayori replied.

Zero lowered his bowl, looking surprised at this request.

"Why?"

"Sincere bridges can only be built between peoples if both peoples are building them. If half of the crew are forgetting that they're working with the other half every time things go a little bad, things will never improve," Sayori said.

"That's a good point, but..." Yuuki looked uncomfortable, "letting them remember an attack like that-- wouldn't it just make them scared and angry?"

"Maybe," Sayori granted, "I'm not saying that we need to stop entirely, or that something like the attack doesn't warrant it. But when it comes to what Kichirou and Claudia have been up to, it's not so different from what I assume you two have been doing."

"T-that's different, I asked per--" Yuuki began, trying to force herself not to look as embarrassed as she felt.

"I believe you," Sayori cut her off, "but the way things are, Kichirou won't have the chance to give his permission anytime soon, and maybe even not with the time he has left to be around Claudia. I don't take issue with the fact that you're skirting the rules, Ms. Kuran, but that you're not offering some slack to people who might be able to experience something similar."

Acting on her privilege didn't trouble Yuuki terribly much by itself. But the idea that she might be denying others the opportunity to pursue what had grown between herself and Zero made her deeply uneasy. It would've been irresponsible to about-face entirely, but that didn't mean she couldn't push things in a different direction.

Outwardly banishing any semblance of embarrassment, Yuuki nodded firmly and said, "Okay. We'll see what we can do about this. Are you willing to bear your thoughts out to the Chairman, Wakaba?"

Sayori nodded, "Yes, of course."

Zero, who had been conspicuously quiet for a little while now, tilted his bowl back and drank what remained of his broth.

"Sounds like you have things figured out," he said.

Sayori and Yuuki looked at him.

"Why is he like this?" Sayori asked Yuuki.

Yuuki shrugged.

"You asked for me because I'm reliable," Zero said, moving to leave, "not because I'm chatty. If I was reliable by letting you talk to somebody who is better at this sort of thing, what does it matter if I was silent?"

He paused at the door, and added, "Let me know when you're going to do this, or the only hunter rep you'll have in the room is going to be tilted against you."

Then he was gone.


	12. Pursuit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kaname falls under attack, Torvald finds Shizuka Hio, Ichiru and Zero bear out some of their problems, and Sayori and Yuuki become friends.

Kaname’s limousine didn’t make it to Cross Academy on time, or even that day. As it wound through the mountains, shapes began to move through the surrounding trees. Wolves and bats, and an assortment of other predatory creatures. Though each bore a presence that did not fit the shape that it wore, it was not something that he was inclined to linger overmuch on. It was only a matter of time before he drew someone’s attention, after all, and having gone three months without being detected was more than he could have hoped.

But he was surprised when one of the wolves threw itself at the limousine, bouncing off of the roof with a yelp and rolling into the trees on the other side of the vehicle. Lars jumped in his seat, looking wildly around as if expecting to see something crawling through the rear window.

”Calm yourself,” Kaname said, though he didn't lend the weight of his presence necessary to make it an order. Nevertheless, Lars took a deep breath and tried to steadily himself to the best of his ability. A cloud of bats hurled itself against the rear windows, bouncing off-- until the very last of them. It came into contact with the glass and broke it in a most unnatural impact.

It darted into the cab, heading straight for Kaname.

But just as soon as it got its bearings to do so, Kaname’s eyes gleamed and a burst of force smote the bat apart. It did not so much burst as it ceased to exist, wiped clean from the canvas of reality. Cold mountain air streamed uncomfortably through the rear window. He sighed, and lifted a receiver next to his seat.

”Stop the car,” Kaname said. The car soon slowed to a halt, and he got out.

Staring balefully into the surrounding woods, he said, “Please leave. You do not have the power to harm me in that form, no matter how many you send.”

A dozen wolves growled from the surrounding brush. They were not here in great numbers, or in great power, that was true. But Rido was ferociously hungry, and _this boy_ … he was clearly Haruka’s son. Oh, he styled himself differently, but that hair-- those eyes. Even his voice. It was like a shadow of his brother, mocking him for his weakness.

But more than anything, Rido despised the boy because he was living proof that Juri did not love him-- or at the least, had loved him less. In his hunger and his haste he did not consider that Kaname might have been useful for breaking another of his Bindings. In that moment, more than anything in the world, Rido needed to crush his throat between his jaws and drink him dry.

The wolves sprang out from every direction, scrabbling towards Kaname with unnaturally fang-toothed mouths and gleaming red eyes. But as it happened, Kaname had not been boasting overmuch about his prowess. Familiars began to pop like balloons being pierced with darts, their substance attacked and dispersed smoothly and efficiently as they tried to close to range. He didn’t even need to move to do it.

A veritable rain of bats began to hurl themselves against the whole of the car, slamming themselves into it faster than Kaname could wipe them out of the sky. The damage they could do was limited, but as an act of inconveniencing spite they certainly did their job and gummed things up badly. Most of the windows were at least cracked by the time the last of them was wiped from being, and the limousine was dented from one end to the other as if it were hailed on.

Miles and miles away Rido sprang out of his chair with a dreadful roar of fury that sent the less experienced servants scattering in fear. The more seasoned of them, of course, knew not to make themselves targets. The first to begin running found herself pinned against the wall by invisible force. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears rolling down her cheeks as he advanced the half-foot or so left between them and bit down on her shoulder. As gruesome as it was she was the fortunate one of the pair.

Rido painfully wrenched his fangs loose from her and discarded her in a heap on the floor to seize the boy that had run beside her, and once he was done with **him** there was nothing left but ash and dust and formal wear crumpling to the ground among the heap. If Rido noticed the first of his victims pawing at the dust that must, perhaps, have once been a colleague if not a friend, he gave no sign of it. He seated himself again, wiping the blood from his mouth on his sleeve and beginning to extrude new familiars.

Back along the road to Cross Academy, Kaname climbed into the passenger seat of the cab and picked up the telephone beneath the seat.

”Good morning, Uncle. I’m sorry to get in touch with you so abruptly to ask a favor, but I was coming to visit you and my vehicle has experienced difficulties. Would you mind sending someone down the road to assist us?” Kaname asked, as casually as if his car had simply broken down of perfectly mundane causes.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Torvald hated tracking down lunatics like the prodigal daughter of the Hio family, which was itself already known for producing lunatics. She was among those highly unpopular Purebloods that did whatever she pleased. For some that meant that you could track them by the number of Level E they left in their path, but in her specific case the choice that she had made was to live a _boring_ life, and that meant that she was as disengaged from their society as possible. It was easier to track her by rumors of a ghostly 'Pale Lady' moving from place to place than it was to determine anything from any sort of official channels, though there was an occasional whiff of some sort of official transaction related to the Hio's known bank accounts here and there.

Even so, the last one was three months ago. It was still like trying to chase two mosquitos over an open body of water.

When he finally caught up to Shizuka, he found her dwelling along the coast, among cliffside summer homes. Cozy vacation cottages dotted the surroundings, all precisely large and well-appointed enough to look rustic without actually being so. As he walked up towards the dwelling he caught sight of a rather plain-looking man chopping wood. A few yards away was a simple structure from which a multitude of freshly caught fish were hanging. The woman herself was unmistakable by presence if not by appearance.

Shizuka Hio was not dressed as was expected of her reputation thus far. The elaborate eastern finery that she favored had been replaced with a black dress trimmed in white lace, a matching choker and a fluffy fur shawl that was such a dark shade of brown it was nearly indistinguishable from black. She finished the look with a pair of heavy, buckled boots and a black veil that was more appropriate as mourning wear than as everyday clothing. If Torvald couldn't feel the gravity of her presence pressing down around him, he would've assumed he had gotten the wrong person-- which he was sure was the idea, from a distance at least. She sat on a wooden lounge chair that looked far too base for the underlying elegance of the one that sat in it.

She was, by Torvald's reckoning, the sort of woman who would look most in place in a palatial estate surrounded by riches. He approached carefully, keeping his hands within sight, careful not to tug even at the barest threads of his power. Once he was close enough to speak he knelt deferentially before Shizuka.

The look that Shizuka gave him was distant, and instantaneously tired of what he was up to. Not as if he was garbage exactly, but it was clear to Torvald that this approach had not won him any favor. She had abandoned being vampire royalty, and so, she neither wanted or expected to be approached in this way.

"Miss Hio," Torvald shifted gears, rising carefully, "his majesty, Rido Kuran, sends his greetings and an invitation to join him on the eve of his freedom."

It was not the message Torvald was intended to give, but he thought it would go over better than an exquisitely flowery equivalent to, 'That guy you were betrothed to before you were born, and before he went off the deep end, is interested in giving you a once over.'

The man chopping firewood mis-aimed in response to this, accidentally burying his axe to the handle in the stump. Shizuka turned her head slightly to look in his direction, her obvious disinterest in what Torvald had brought her giving way to an amused smile. She shook her head at the man, and then returned her gaze to Torvald.

" **Tell me exactly what Rido wants from me** ," Shizuka commanded him.

Torvald felt his mind bend, and did not bother even attempting resistance. He replied, "Lord Rido wishes to resume your engagement. He thinks that you would make a fine Queen, I believe."

"He did not say explicitly?" She asked.

"No," he said.

Shizuka slid from her chair easily, rising to her full height. There was something about her, a presence beyond her status as a Pureblood, that made her seem to tower above Torvald-- though she was less his height by a good three inches. She laid a hand against his shoulder, circling around him until she stood at his back, dragging her hand along his body as she went.

Torvald didn't dare move. He waited, holding his breath.

At last she leaned forward over his shoulder, her lips brushing his ear lightly. The man at the chopping block pulled his axe free, glanced back at them, and rolled his eyes. Shizuka gave a husky giggle that tickled Torvald's ear and neck. He could tell that this was a regular routine between these two when they were disturbed.

"Please give Mr. Kuran my warmest regards. His invitation I do gratefully decline, having no interest in being snared back into the myriad tortures that our people inflict on ourselves and each other. And..." Shizuka slipped her arm around the front of Torvald, elongating her nails into claws and driving them shallowly into his skin.

"If you are feeling so valiant as to speak boldly on behalf of a lady so injured as I, tell him that I would never settle for a man who thinks to have me only because his sister would not," She breathed, slipping her claws free from Torvald's chest and pushing him away.

" **You will leave now, and not remember where or how you found us,** " Shizuka commanded, turning away to join the man at the chopping block.

Pressing a hand over the spot where Shizuka had gouged holes in his chest -- not deeply, Torvald knew she intended to hurt rather than kill -- he staggered away under her compulsion. He spared only a single fleeting glance back at them.

The contrast between what he experienced and what was happening just now was like black and white. It seemed to happen in two entirely different worlds.

Shizuka licked Torvald's blood from her pinky, made a sour face, and then offered her hand to the man. He tested her index finger and then spat on the ground, and each of them laughed, as if they were a couple sitting in front of a cheap picture show sharing a bag of mystery-flavored candies.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

It was a few hours yet before the rotating of the gates, and his own Night shift classes. Zero walked towards the Sun dorm alone, a couple of books and notebooks tucked under one arm, an empty bowl ready for cleaning in the other. He had a thousand things to think about, but the thing that lingered on his mind was what Sayori had to say. She hadn't accused him of doing something hypocritical directly, and strictly speaking the circumstances were different. It was one of the reasons that he gave the cold shoulder to the likes of Shindo. He wasn't really interested to begin with, but it ran deeper than surface level disinterest.

It wasn't really safe for a hunter to be intimate with a human, either. Notwithstanding their own growliness, it was already the case that hunter families had to be on the lookout for usage of their own against them. A family member turned, or taken hostage-- or both, there wasn't much difference between the two. True, a hunter was not much more likely to hurt a human companion than a hunter companion. Even so...

Zero didn't see much difference between killing one's lover and knowingly leading them into a difficult life with a gruesome end. His parents got by on being so strong individually that attacking them was only somewhat less dangerous than attacking Kaien Cross himself, but even that hadn't prevented them from taking paranoid measures. It was the most natural thing in the world, then, to be attracted to strength that humans singularly lacked. Wasn't it?

No... that wasn't quite right. Zero breathed a frustrated sigh, glancing out across the lake.

"What's wrong?" Ichiru asked. He had come up alongside Zero on the bridge, having evidently concluded his business at the main campus for the moment as well.

Zero made a noncommittal noise. He must have looked troubled to get that sort of reaction out of Ichiru. He was nearly certain that his brother was going to come lecture him about... something along the lines of 'sleeping with the enemy'. Perhaps it showed on his face, because the scolding that he anticipated never came. They walked together in silence about a quarter of the way across the bridge.

"Ichiru... what do you want to do after this?" He asked, suddenly.

Ichiru looked surprised at the direction the conversation -- or initial lack thereof -- had swung. He tapped at his chin thoughtfully, and replied, "I don't know. I always thought that I would be a hunter in spite of my... situation, so I never thought much ahead of where I was at any time. A part of me wants to find a way to do it anyway."

"Why?"

Ichiru shrugged. "Perhaps just to prove that I can. Or maybe just because I know that even if I walk away from it, it will follow me wherever I go. If you're a part of our world, even a little, you don't ever really get to leave it."

Zero nodded.

"Having second thoughts about succeeding mother and father?" Ichiru probed.

"No," Zero answered.

"Then why are you asking?"

"I suppose... I'm just in that sort of mood," Zero said.

It was a rare thing for Zero to feel. Ichiru remembered, many years ago, lying awake at night with Zero. They would keep each other awake talking and doing anything at all besides trying to get to sleep like they were supposed to. Eventually, they would become so sleepy that their minds just didn't have any social filtering left in them anymore.

To Ichiru, that felt like an eternity ago... and his brother had rarely lapsed into such a state after they were nearly grown. What had happened with Toga's fiance had torn him up inside. Even when he was kind, from that point forward, he was guarded and difficult. With that thought, all the worry that had begun to build up in Ichiru's system about the foolishness his brother was committing began to crumble. The pieces came together, a few details absent, but clear enough to have a good idea of where it was going.

"Zero," Ichiru said.

Zero made an acknowledging noise.

"Do you understand why what you've been up to concerns me?" Ichiru asked.

"Yeah."

"But you wouldn't stop if I asked you to," he pressed.

"No."

"Ass," Ichiru said, but his voice was more amused than aggravated.

Zero nodded, and agreed, "Yeah."

They walked the rest of the way across the bridge in silence, striding off through the grass a while before stopping to look at one another.

"Ichiru," Zero said.

"Yes?" He replied.

"If... you want to become the 'strongest killer' they expect me to be, I know you have it in you. But if you choose that, choose it selfishly, not because it was expected of you as a Kiryu," Zero said. He raised a hand full of notebooks to wave at Ichiru with them and carried on towards the dormitory, alone.

Ichiru stood in the yard where Zero had left him, thinking. He was the son of famous hunters; it was expected that he would be strong, extraordinarily so. But memories of phone calls and whispered conversations in their youth stood out in his mind, sharp and biting with their dismissal of his usefulness, like a cruelly arctic wind. He let his hand drop to his sword, thumbing the guard to slide it partway from the sheath. The blade whistled through the air an instant later, leaving and returning to the sheath with a light clatter.

It was not a hostile or angry gesture. It was his meditation, as gunshots were Zero's. The action was rote and easy, and it _could_ have made him the 'strongest killer'. Ichiru believed that. But that wasn't what he craved. Not really. It was just the path forward that seemed the easiest to him, born as he was into a family of warriors.

All he really wanted was to be acknowledged as worthwhile, and not with the qualifier, '... For someone so frail', and not by Zero who offered his support unconditionally -- even when it was undeserved -- but by the many figures in his life who had decided that his use was factually limited.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

"Are you not afraid of us?" Yuuki asked Sayori, as they walked through the halls of the main campus building together. There was a faint buzz of chatter here and there, where students lingered to chat between classes, though most of it echoed up from the floor beneath them. The damage inflicted on the second floor had caused parts of it to be roped off for repairs.

Strictly speaking they weren't supposed to be using the wrecked second floor classroom the way they had, but Zero had a way of making some kinds of rule-breaking seem like it wasn't such a big deal at all.

Sayori hummed thoughtfully, clutching a book and notepad loosely in front of her. She replied, "Even if I understand there's a little bit of danger in thinking so, you're still people who prioritize things not so differently than anybody else does. I think that the communities on your 'side' of things underestimate how good an instinct that we have for these sorts of things."

Yuuki blinked rapidly at this answer.

"No, I'm not afraid of you," Sayori clarified, simply.

The predatory part of Yuuki rankled at the idea that she wasn't threatening to 'prey', even though the very idea that somebody like Sayori _should_ be afraid of her ran contrary to her hopes for Cross Academy. She heaved a heavy, satisfied sigh and beamed at Sayori.

"You're a really interesting kind of person, Wakaba," she said, enthusiastically.

Yuuki realized her tone didn't quite match what she'd said, and waved a hand animatedly, elaborating, "I-I mean, it takes a lot of guts to come at Zero like that, and the argument that you made was really strong." 

Her face fell as she continued, "Cross Academy is a big part of my dreams, and it didn't even occur to me that maybe I was being too harsh with Claudia..."

If Sayori felt less of Yuuki for her fumbling, though, it didn't show. An amused smile, restrained enough to be dignified while still sharing her feelings quite clearly, curved her lips. She replied, "You can call me Sayori. And you shouldn't second guess things you've already done like that. As a leader, you need to have confidence in your decisions, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be open to changing how you do things later. It's not a sign of weakness to change."

Yuuki hummed thoughtfully, looking at the floor. What could she do differently going forward? What sort of line might she draw instead of the ones she had? She thought aloud, "So maybe I could set a limit to how often they're allowed to... or maybe just host cross-Dorm events so people can get it out of their system while there are plenty of people around to notice if something goes wrong?"

"You need a pilot program," Sayori offered, helpfully.

"An experimental trial, you mean?" Yuuki asked.

Sayori nodded.

"... Would you like to be on the disciplinary committee?" Yuuki offered, hopefully.

"I'm thankful that you think I would make a good addition, but I like being awake for classes," Sayori said.

Yuuki laughed, and nodded. They stopped at the end of the hallway, next to one of the corner staircases. She said, "I don't know how Kaito and Ichiru come out seeming so normal. Zero and I are always getting into trouble because of our weird hours."

"It's because," Sayori explained, "you two take the time to 'play'."

Blushing a bright red, Yuuki asked, "W-w-what?! That's not--"

"That's not what I meant, Yuuki," Sayori added hastily, before Yuuki could get too fired up about it. With the faintest hint of exasperation, she said, "Takamiya and Zero's brother are all business and necessities. You can rely on them for those things, but whatever hobbies they have, they don't bring them out in public at all. They're like salarymen."

Yuuki calmed quickly at Sayori's reassurance, but sucked air through her teeth in an appreciative hiss at the biting thing Sayori had said about Kaito and Ichiru. She replied, "You're not wrong, but what a harsh thing to say..."

She asked, "What sort of 'play' do you do, then, Sayori?"

They began to descend the staircase.

Sayori replied, "I do a lot of reading, and a little writing. I'm a part of the debate club, and I do some independent studies of political theory and civics. Yuuki..."

At the bottom of the stairs, Sayori paused, resting her hand along the dark wood banister. She looked up at Yuuki, who paused where she stood and made a questioning noise, waiting expectantly for Sayori to finish her thought.

"I want you to know," Sayori said, "that my father told me to befriend you if I could."

Yuuki blinked. She replied, "But... this is the first time we've spoken outside of class since the start of term."

Sayori nodded. "That's right."

"So you didn't do what he asked?" Yuuki wondered, confused.

"I like you, and I don't care for the way my father does things," Sayori explained. Then she smiled, and said, "I have to go. Club activities before the gate rotation. I hope we _can_ be friends, Yuuki. Have a good night."

Yuuki watched Sayori go, waving at her as she went. She was a little unsure of how to receive such a confession, but the trail of Sayori's scent teased Yuuki's senses and brought her around to the conclusion she had made but was not quite yet ready to commit to. It was like a savory beef stew bubbling atop a stove.

It was, Yuuki thought, a lovely smell-- and one that Sayori would not have if Yuuki hadn't decided that she liked her, as well.


	13. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which:
> 
> Torvald delivers Shizuka's rejection to Rido.
> 
> Yuuki and Zero feel out the boundaries of their relationship.
> 
> Kaname and Lars plan their next move on the way up to Cross Academy (again).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Content Disclaimer:** Coarse Language, Questionably Safe For Work

* * *

The sitting room of the upper mansion was deserted. Rido had been in a sufficiently bad mood of late that nobody was near him that didn't need to be at a given time. Only a shout or the tinkle of a bell would bring them calling. The Lord himself sat in a fresh armchair, brought up the mountain from the town several miles away. He was tired of old, rotting things being his only options. He wanted something nice, fresh, sturdy.

Torvald knelt before the chair, just barely outside of the reach of Rido's telekinetics. Another two servants lingered near the door, but only because Torvald had commanded it of them. He did this because he believed it would increase the odds of his survival across the next several moments.

"Shizuka Hio declines your invitation, Lord Kuran. She took the memory of her location and the path there from me, so I cannot share even that much," he said, forcing himself to remain steady and not present as prey.

Rido glared down at Torvald. Icily, he asked, "Did she give a reason?"

"She..." Torvald hesitated, and looked up properly. He didn't want to present as a man expecting to be beheaded. He continued, "She was living with a man I have never seen or heard of, and was not interested in pursuing your engagement."

"And she injured you."

"Yes," Torvald said.

"Refused me. Injured my envoy," Rido muttered, reclining in his chair and crossing his legs. One foot bobbed absent-mindedly as he thought. He was in a bad mood, but he needed to conserve his energy. He had underestimated those he intended to be his prey, and now knew that he would need many more familiars to act upon them effectively. Each day he had drunk deeply of a servant or sacrifice, and each day he extruded more familiars.

"Living with a human?" he asked.

"Former human," Torvald clarified.

Rido froze, and Torvald sensed a great deal of danger in this.

"Refused me for a former human? For a **slave**?" he growled, a dangerous gleam growing in his eyes.

Torvald nodded so slowly that he might not have moved at all, but he was sure that Rido noticed it. Glaring down at him, it was like being observed by a hungry eagle, its eyes telescoped in on some far distant rabbit that would soon become its meal.

"Hire a human investigator to find them. Find them, but not approach them. I will deal with them later," Rido said.

"My Lord," Torvald said, rising to go.

"Feed yourself! I will have need of you in your capacity as a warrior soon," Rido barked, suddenly.

Torvald flinched, but nodded, and left.

A few more bats peeled off of Rido's shoulder while he thought. He was going to punish Hio for her impudence, but right now she wasn't an 'enemy', just a straggler out on the edges of society. He could go and eat her at his leisure, even as he was now. She was not so powerful as to land a killing blow before he could snuff her life out between his teeth. Even so, he needed to handle his real enemies soon.

Soon, while they were still young and weak. Soon, while the power of their blood was of great use to him but not yet developed enough to do them any good.

But the thought of **that man** shook Rido greatly. Even in his less lucid moments he understood, keenly, that he was not desired. That even to the people who surrounded him he was a burden, a thing to placate, keep in line. Except Asato, and he wasn't sure about Asato. But what he could never grasp was **why**. A darkly gallant figure that no one dared gainsay-- that was what he had seen in his father, and what he didn't see in his brother.

It did not occur to Rido that his father's fairness and penchant for mercy, those very things which spared Rido a summary death, were the very qualities that caused him to be held in esteem rather than only in fear. Power. Presence. The ability to provide anything for anyone beneath his wings-- these things Rido understood, and these things Rido had in abundance.

That anyone might cherish something else enough to outweigh those qualities was foreign to him-- and he had long since been forced to settle for disappointing things in life. The hollow receptacles of his desire weren't even a shadow of Juri.

 _Perhaps_ , Rido brooded, _if I devour such a cherished soul, I will obtain that quality._

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

"Got you!" Yuuki exclaimed. It was mildly premature for her to do so, but Zero couldn't blame her for the enthusiasm. She pushed into his space, thrusting her practice staff behind his leg and hooked it forward to cause his knee to buckle, before pressing forward with the greater mass of the staff to shove him onto his back. He toppled into the grass, reflexively relaxing his body so that the fall wouldn't be quite so rough.

Zero blinked, looking up at Yuuki. She had brought the end of her staff around again like a spear and pressed it to his chest. He eyed her grip critically, but determined immediately that she had learned **not** to relax after getting him on the ground. The last time she'd relaxed too soon he had pushed the staff back into her chest and gotten back up to his feet before she could press her advantage.

That wasn't happening this time. He could see that her grip was still firm and ready.

"Eighty six," he said.

"What? That was much better than last week!" Yuuki pouted, surveying Zero with an exaggeratedly sour expression. She knew that he was simply a perfectionist when it came to combat, even if it was practice that was halfway to play to start with. Even so, it was still an improvement.

She planted her staff in the dirt and offered him a hand up.

He accepted and replied, "Yes. And your score improved correspondingly. But you need to learn to use a shout instead when you feel the urge to declare what's coming. It has the same breathing benefits without the drawbacks."

"Okay," Yuuki sighed, exasperatedly, "but I still think you need to loosen up, Zero. I'm happy to learn how to defend myself better, but you know I'm not doing it for professional reasons, right? How did you put it... 'I'm not thinking of the thing you offered, but that I get to spend time with you', right?"

Zero looked down into Yuuki's face and made a frustrated noise. He nodded, but simply ended up looking sheepish and troubled.

"If that's how you think about it," he said, "I'll try. But I don't think I know how."

Yuuki took another step forward into Zero's space, wrapping her arms around him in a careful embrace. She rested her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes, swaying gently in place with him. It was admissions like those, infrequent though they were, that made her heart break for Zero.

"You used to," she said, muffled into his shirt.

"Did I?"

Yuuki nodded. "Mhm."

"The time that you're thinking of... we must have been children, then," Zero observed.

"I haven't changed that much," Yuuki replied, "have I?"

"Yuuki is Yuuki. Only..." he hesitated.

She looked up at him inquiringly.

"Sometimes, when something is important to you, you are... truly regal," Zero concluded.

"Regal?"

Yuuki had never thought of herself that way. She knew she was royalty among vampires, and she felt the responsibility of that. But she struggled with her school work and made decisions she knew were risky and maybe even dumb, because they felt right in her heart.

There's no way he was being serious. Yuuki rocked him backwards forcefully on purpose, glaring up at him with an expression that was halfway between aggravated and amused, "Don't tease me like that when we're talking about serious things."

But the serious look she received in return told Yuuki that she'd misjudged the situation, and nothing could have prepared her for what he did next. As casual as they were with each other in public, Zero had never said or done anything that might have confirmed to an observer that their relationship was as intimate as it had become. Not that people weren't talking anyway, but Yuuki thought he was trying not to fuel that fire more than he had to.

Out here in the open of the Sun dorm's grassy lawns, Zero cupped Yuuki's face in his hand and said, "If you don't believe me, drink my blood and see for yourself."

Yuuki clapped her right hand over his mouth before any other reaction occurred to her. She stared up at him with wide eyes, an unbearable mixture of embarrassment, shock, frustration, and happy butterflies overwhelming her. She hissed, "Zero, you can't just say things like that!"

Zero withdrew his hand from Yuuki's face and lifted his eyebrows.

"You're thinking, 'I just did.', aren't you?"

He nodded.

"I've never looked at the thoughts in your blood," Yuuki said, easing her hand away. But then, what she had taken from him so far hadn't even been meals. Snacks and love bites, coalescing together with other desires that frequently became indistinguishable from the rest of her feeding urges. It hadn't really occurred to her to look during any of that; what she was doing in the moment took priority.

He couldn't know what he was saying, she decided. It had to be a misunderstanding by somebody who couldn't do such a thing. Yuuki backed away and took Zero by the hand, leading him away from the clear stretch of yard they used for practice. She seized her practice bo in passing, and didn't stop until they reached a copse. There were many like it scattered across the grounds, one of which part way bordered the lake and had provided romantic hidey holes for countless students across the years.

She felt incredibly self-conscious disappearing into one herself, but Yuuki needed the illusory semiprivate of outdoors to discourage her from getting out of hand. As soon as they were out of sight Yuuki discarded her bo on the ground and turned towards Zero, releasing his hand.

"You can't keep offering me more," Yuuki said.

"Too fast?" he asked.

Yuuki wasn't sure what to say, looking guiltily away from his face. That wasn't it, not exactly-- and between the two of them, she was the one doing most of the pushing. When things started moving too quickly, it was his instinct to stop that acted as their brake, even if she was able to be content with it. If her nervousness had been ignored she would have barreled on through and then... and then she'd probably feel crushingly weird about it, by now.

"If you keep giving, I'll keep taking, and I don't know if I'll be able to stop because I want it all!" she blurted out, frustratedly.

Zero sighed. It was a moment of blunt sincerity that troubled Yuuki in the first place, and he knew he didn't have time to think about it much. He supposed that there was really nothing for it. He raised his hand to trace a line down Yuuki's jaw with his fingertips, stopping at her chin and raising his thumb to brush her lips.

The subtle thrum of blood flow in Zero's fingers captured Yuuki's attention as much as the goosebumps that rose on her neck in reaction to being touched so provocatively. Her lips parted ever-so-slightly on instinct, though a part of her was beginning to fire up to scold him. This was exactly what she was talking about--!

"I know that a part of the affection of a vampire is this one," Zero said, pressing his thumb where he could feel the shape of a fang beneath Yuuki's skin. "Between a hunter and a vampire, that is... absolutely forbidden, and even if you took every last drop of blood I will have in the fullness of my life, all at once, you would be no more satisfied than if you had a single cup. But that 'single cup' can be given many times. I thought that between us, it was the greatest affection I could give you. If you can't bear that, then I'll stop."

It took an enormous effort not to lose herself in the flow of blood before her. Yuuki breathed heavily against Zero's fingers, but her eyes were fixed on his, her focus on the words she knew came with difficulty. A feeling of distant guilt rang in the recesses of her mind at the notion that what they were doing was forbidden. It was not something that she had been taught to live by, but she knew it was a 'rule' of their societies that many believed in.

She would never obey such a thing. Yuuki's heart was her own, and she would share it with who she wished. Even if she had entertained the thought of compliance with that old taboo, her control had already slipped months ago. If it had only been the once perhaps Yuuki could have rationalized it away, but the second time... there was nothing for it but that she wanted it and he wanted to share it.

"I can't bear it," Yuuki breathed, taking his hand in between hers, "and I can't bear going without it. It's so frustrating, Zero. Just when I think I have a handle on it, you say something that tempts me all over again. It's not like I don't believe you when you say something nice about me, either."

Leaning forward, Yuuki nuzzled his hand against her cheek and shut her eyes. "Certainty is the most addicting thing of all, Zero, and I'm..."

Yuuki hesitated. Would she scare him off if she said what she needed to? Nothing at all could make it less true. But even if a hunter was closer to being a vampire than an ordinary human, it still wasn't the same for them. They couldn't parse their affection for a person in scent and flavor, or at least no more than any human.

The inquiring look that Zero shot her prompted Yuuki to barrel determinedly on, in spite of her apprehension.

"... already addicted to you," she admitted. "So even if you tease me with blood on your fingertips every night from now on, please don't waft the truth of your feelings underneath my nose. It's too much."

"Okay," Zero said.

The piece of Yuuki that craved that certainty rankled against the simplicity of his answer. Yuuki opened her eyes to look searchingly up at him, but before she could make any sense of his expression she was being pushed backwards. Dual instincts warred with one another, a brief flash of defensive impulses immediately losing to the excited hammer-flutter of her heart. She found herself pressed against a tree, her hands lifted and pinned by her wrists.

She molded herself to Zero's form as he pressed against her, clumsily leaning into the needy kiss that he began. The pressure on her wrists slackened, and Yuuki slid her arms around his neck while her tongue moved against his. It was a starkly different taste from when she had kissed him while fresh blood still moistened her lips, and the sensuous push and pull of his lips against hers felt so nice that even without being drunk on his blood she wanted to chase more of that sensation.

Yuuki ran her hands blindly through Zero's hair, her fingers curling affectionately against his scalp.

Zero didn't allow the moment to linger. He broke away from her an instant later and sucked in a deep breath. He said, "Just don't imagine... that you're the only one of us who is 'tempted', Yuuki."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

The atmosphere of Cross Academy had once again begun to grow thick and tense. Even the regular students were beginning to become aware of the spooky feeling that lingered on the grounds. The initial rumors were that it was some kind of ghost, stirring up old urban legends from the town down the hill, alongside wholesale made up stories. Soon, the feeling had begun to spread to the guardians of the school-- though nothing, it seemed, could actually be done about it. The famed senses of the hunters could not pinpoint a coherent source, and all of the vampires said that all they could smell different was a higher amount of animals than usual.

A few nights after he was attacked, Kaname rode up to the school with Lars, taking an unobtrusive replacement car from among those that Kaien held in reserve for emergency situations. This one was practically an antique, but Kaname had been of the opinion that its sturdier design might help it weather an attack more effectively, if it came down to it.

But no attack came.

"What _is_ that?" Lars asked.

"I'm not sure," Kaname admitted, peering out the window into the surrounding forest. He had a hunch that he hoped wouldn't play out, but the ominous feeling of the surrounding wood gave him little hope for that outcome.

"But you have an idea?"

"Yes," Kaname said.

"Well, then, would you mind _sharing_ it?" Lars asked, irritably.

Kaname took a deep, steadying breath and fully reclined in his seat, looking towards Lars appraisingly. After a little while of silence he said, "The animals the other night were Familiars of a pureblood like myself. While we can make quite a few of them, each of us have a limit under ordinary circumstances. That limit is essentially the amount of our consciousness that we can disperse into auxiliary forms while still maintaining function across all such bodies. We can make more if we commit to some of our Familiars becoming inert."

"A sufficient quantity of Familiars," he continued, "will have a presence similar to the vampire itself. Since they are normally limited in number, the applications remain 'tactical' in scope. But we've been driving for quite some time, and the feeling has remained even across the road. Either we're being followed by quite a few of them moving at speed... or there is such a quantity of them that they are creating a blanket presence over this region."

Lars stared at Kaname, eyes wide. He asked, "That feeling is... somebody putting so much of themselves across the whole hill that we can't distinguish them from the ambient atmosphere anymore?!"

Kaname nodded. "I would have to go out and check to be sure, and I don't want to do that if I can avoid it."

"Then... we could be driving into an ambush?"

"I think it more likely that this is targeting Cross Academy, and is not particular to us at the moment. The attacker from the other night was not subtle, and was fixated on me. If they were going to attack us, I would've expected them to do so already," he replied.

"Lars, suppose for a moment that you possessed such an ability," Kaname said. "What would you do to get what you wanted if you were attempting to inflict damage on Chairman Cross's project?"

Lars looked out the window into the surrounding snowy forest, drumming his fingers against the armrest. He said, "I would probably take my time setting up the camo net to make what I was actually doing hard to detect. Slip some support into the grounds to carry out the primary mission, and then use the familiars to occupy security. An attack by itself won't undermine confidence in Cross's institution unless it has serious ramifications. An assassination of an important leader's child would probably do the trick."

"And how do you think that rational take on things differs from what we experienced the other night?"

"Lack of self-control. It was like those animals had a grudge against you," Lars said.

"It's amusing," Kaname said, "because I haven't had time to make my own enemies just yet. You are the first big move that I've made, and I'm sure you can see how small you are in the grand scheme of things. So either I've been noticed by somebody, or this is a family enemy."

"The Kuran family doesn't have enemies like that. You're best-known for surrendering power and keeping your heads down," Lars said.

"Very good. Which means?"

Lars thought for a moment. He said, "Then it's not 'your' enemy, or even your father and mother's enemy. It has to be your _grandfather's_ enemy, or older. Or is it a coincidence?"

"I need you to **prepare yourself for a fight** , Lars," Kaname commanded, reaching into his jacket and withdrawing a pistol and a pair of magazines. He passed the weapon to Lars, who accepted them uneasily. "If the 'grudge' theory plays out and this is targeted at Cross Academy, there are two probable targets of passion: My sister, and Chairman Cross. Neither are good targets, so you won't be acting to protect them. Instead, I want you to check any rational actors that might be carrying out orders for our mystery enemy."

"Someone like me," Lars said.

"Yes," Kaname confirmed. He paused, surveying Lars inquisitively. "Do you have a problem dispatching such an individual if it should come to that?"

"No," Lars said, truthfully. Being in the spy business, a murder here or there wasn't all that foreign to him.

"Good," Kaname said, "then I want you to find the most vulnerable target in the school whose death would cause the most unrest. Make sure that person is secure. _If you have a serious problem..._ "

He reached into his pockets again and produced a metallic case, just too big to sit in his hand without hanging over each side. Kaname popped it open, revealing within a set of glass vials of variable size. Plucking two of them free from the padded recess in which they were secured, he snapped the case shut again and pocketed it.

Unstoppering one of the vials, Kaname extended one fingernail into a claw and prodded a vein in his arm as casually as if he were scratching an itch. Each of the two vials he filled from puncture before he permitted it to mend. Once he had it closed at once.

Kaname extended the vials gingerly to Lars, holding them fast at first. He said, "These are not snacks. This dosage is sufficient to allow _you_ to survive a single otherwise fatal injury so long as you are alive enough to consume it afterwards. It is also a low enough dosage that it will serve a similar purpose for a human. You **are not to use either of these unless it is an emergency**."

Lars's hand shook violently as he initially reached for the vials. He wanted them so badly that he would've torn them forcefully from Kaname's hand if some buried instinct did not prevent him from making the attempt. His eyes glazed over temporarily when he was commanded so harshly against his instincts, but he nodded, steadied, and pocketed the vials immediately after.

When his senses returned to him, Lars made an aggravated noise. He sniffed at the air, looking Kaname up and down. He wanted this man's blood the way he wanted no other's-- he had noticed a multitude of different scents like this. The most obvious were those of people close to him.

His wife smelled like his favorite kind of pie. But everybody he halfway liked was some sort of 'sweet'. Kaname, however, had no articulable scent at all-- and yet, he wanted to bite him all the same.

"Why do you smell so good to me?" he demanded, grumpily.

"Are you wondering if you've fallen for me, Lars?" Kaname teased.

"Fuck no. But you still smell and taste perfect. Why?" Lars bit back.

Kaname tapped at his own cheek thoughtfully. It wouldn't hurt to share, after all, and he owed Lars a little. He replied, "Principally, it is power. Unless you are thoroughly revolted by the individual, you will find any Pureblood to smell irresistibly tasty, because if you can manage to take a sip from one of us your power will increase permanently. To be clear, you should not attempt to take the blood of one of my kind unbidden. They are more powerful than you, and they will kill you."

Lars grunted. "So you were making me more powerful, back then?"

"No," Kaname said, "I was making you stable. If I had not done that, you would have eventually become nothing but hunger. But if you were to drink either of those vials, you _would_ become more powerful."

"What about other people?" Lars probed.

"Your sense of smell and taste are mildly psychic. Those traits that you value become smells and tastes that you enjoy. If you pay close attention while you're drinking directly from someone, you'll find that you'll be able to observe their thoughts and feelings in the moment."

Lars grimaced, but it only took a moment's more thought to reconsider his initial disgust at the idea. On the horizon, the lights mounted on the front gates of Cross Academy appeared in the distance, twinkling like twin stars. He worked the slide on the pistol Kaname gave him, chambering a round before tucking it away in his jacket.

"Anything else?"

"Be on your best behavior. These are my friends and family," Kaname said, simply.

The fact that Kaname did not make that an order disturbed Lars deeply for what he assumed was an implicit underlying threat against his own.


	14. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which numerous parties plan their next move,  
> and Shizuka discusses her relationship with Rido while trying to throw him off her trail.

* * *

It was a rare occasion that Cross Academy's shooting range was attended by all three of the firearm-wielding hunters who lived within the school's halls. The tension that had settled across the campus, and the implications of that same tension, had all of them incredibly agitated. Under different circumstances they would have attracted watchers; girls looking to gawk at Toga or Kaito after work or class, boys interested in the shooting and perhaps in associating with popular people. But all of the marksmen had adopted an outward demeanor that frightened most comers of late.

This was nothing out of the ordinary for Zero, who was the most deliberately intimidating of the three, but both Toga and Kaito had a better reputation among the students and faculty most of the time.

The crack of gunshots rang out in synchronization as all three of them took aim and unloaded their weapons on some silent cue that only they recognized. As quickly as they could they reloaded, and began to fire across lanes in overlapping fields of coordinated fire. Kaito and Zero converged their fire briefly on Toga's target, and then swept from rightmost -- that was Kaito -- back to Toga's center target, and finally Zero's on the left.

"I'd like an artillery piece," Kaito broke the silence.

Toga snorted and shook his head. He reloaded his repeater, during which time Kaito and Zero both abruptly focused their fire on his target again. He shot down each of their lanes once, and then shouldered his weapon temporarily. He said, "Between the chemistry labs, the kitchens, and the laundry room, we have the materials to make IEDs if we need to."

Zero made an acknowledging noise, and asked, "What about visual interference? The only one of us who wasn't impeded by that was Ichiru."

"Two sets of goggles from HQ," Toga said, "but one of them is allocated to a member of the Night class at that Princess's request."

"The lightning woman, right?" Kaito asked.

Toga nodded.

"In that case..." Zero looked at Kaito.

"You should take the second set, teacher," Kaito completed the thought.

"Yeah," Toga agreed. He set his rifle aside and sat down along the benches along the back of the range, rummaging through his bag one-handed. After a moment he withdrew two cigarette packets, tossing them each at Kaito and Zero.

They each caught them. Zero shook his head.

"If you won't smoke them," Toga replied, adjusting his hearing protection, "just burn the tobacco if it comes to it."

Kaito pocketed his packet.

Zero tossed his packet into his own bag, and then turned back to his lane. He began to fire casually from the hip. A couple of lanes over, Kaito imitated the action.

"What's our battle plan if this boils over? I don't feel like being caught by surprise this time," Kaito said.

Toga replied, "If we're attacked during a vulnerable moment like before, this is how it'll be: Kaito, you are to use Weeping Larkspur's special properties to establish perimeter control around the Sun dorm. I'll clear any initial incursions into the Day class faculty housing and head to take the roof of the main building, where I'll provide long-range support. The Night class has put together a plan to secure the Moon dorm's surroundings, so there's no need to worry about them unless we can observe them having problems. Miss Toya is their long-range support, so I expect her to make for high ground, and that Shiki boy is always with her so I suppose I can count on at least that much immediate back-up."

"Zero," he continued, "will be our mobile response. I assume the Princess will spearhead a similar role for the Night Class. First Officer Cross is a wildcard. He doesn't want to wake his bonded weapon, but he will if he has to. If it's necessary to fall back, fall back towards his aural silhouette. There won't be anywhere safer."

"And Ichiru?" Zero asked.

"I trust Ichiru to find his place," Toga said, simply.

Kaito and Zero looked at Toga in surprise.

"Ichiru exercised good judgment during the last incident in backing up Kaito. I'm not going to baby him," Toga answered their confusion.

"Fair enough," Kaito said.

Zero nodded.

Kaito looked at Zero. "You want pipe bombs?"

"No."

"Two," Toga told Kaito, who nodded.

"Converge if there's an enemy Pureblood?" Zero asked.

"Yeah," Toga confirmed.

"Speaking of Purebloods," Kaito said, turning around to look in the direction of the front drive. A new aural silhouette had appeared, winding its way up past the gates and pulling up to the front of Cross Academy.

"Who is that?" he asked.

Zero ejected the round chambered in Bloody Rose and began to collect his belongings. He didn't know why that person had shown up, but he didn't like it. Not while this ominous feeling hung over the grounds like a stormcloud. He replied to Kaito, "I think that's Yuuki's brother."

Toga nodded in agreement. "Feels like it."

"Is he trustworthy?" Kaito asked.

Zero hesitated, which he knew Kaito would take notice of. His relationship with Kaname Kuran was not much more distant than his relationship with Yuuki, but they didn't get along nearly as well. When they were younger it was alright, but the older they got the more it felt like Kaname was pulling away from personal attachments altogether. That was never a good sign in a Pureblood.

"I don't think he would do anything to hurt Yuuki," he said.

"How reassuring," Kaito answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

⁂⁂⁂

The Moon dorm was, if anything, more tense than the collection of hunters. No vampire appreciates the presence of another predator prowling their territory, and this lot were already crowded. Grumpy faces and excess consumption of blood-tinted water were a regular sight, and today was no exception. The front lounge was a buzz of similar activity at the moment, though the 'grumpy' faces were more sleepy than truly agitated in the moment.

"... so you need to make sure that doesn't happen again," Yuuki said.

"It won't be a problem, so don't worry about it, Lady Yuuki," Hanabusa replied.

They were walking down the central corridor of the second floor, emerging at that moment onto the loft overlooking the main common area of the Moon dormitory. A few heads below lifted in interest at their approach.

"... And if we end up having to rescue Day class students, that's _not_ an excuse to flirt with the girls," Yuuki added, halfway between knowingly serious and deliberately teasing.

"Just because I took the opportunity to charm a stray who came _looking_ for us doesn't mean I'll take advantage of an emergency like that," Hanabusa replied, indignantly.

"So defensive," Yuuki observed, playfully.

Hanabusa huffed sulkily, but said nothing. His role in what they were anticipating was essential, so he couldn't complain that Yuuki had no faith in him. The truth was, she was probably relying on him more than any other single individual.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Takuma fell in beside them. He remarked, "Aido is looking pouty. Are you saying mean things to him, Yuuki?"

"Only a little, and only with love," Yuuki declared, cheerfully.

"Well, that sort of approach _does_ work with him," Takuma observed, amusedly.

Hanabusa shot an aggravated look towards Takuma.

Takuma just smiled, and addressed Yuuki, "Kain and Claudia's role during emergency prep will be Aido escort duty. Since what he needs to do doesn't require active maintenance this time of year, we need to know if you want them to head away from campus or circle through the gardens towards the main campus."

Yuuki hummed thoughtfully, and asked Aido, "How long would it take you to freeze the lake itself?"

"The _whole_ lake? And you want me to do it without a promise of a good meal afterwards?" Hanabusa asked, crossly.

Yuuki's face fell, but she nodded in assent. "I know. That would take a lot of power. But if you had to, could you?"

Hanabusa sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "The 'how long' depends on weather conditions. If what you're actually asking me is if I could stall out the person who attacked you, then yes, if I was close enough to see what they were doing. It would be different if we had a more precise idea of when something might happen."

"Okay," Yuuki said, "then your group needs to make for the Moon dorm's gatehouse once you're finished with your other task. Takuma..."

She looked at him. "I want you, Maria, and Ruka to establish a headquarters in the topmost tower of the Moon dorm to keep watch across the grounds. Maria can inform Ruka where she can target her illusions and where you need to direct our efforts, but... if our enemy _is_ another Pureblood, it might not be very effective. That position should also let you observe anything major happening in the Sun dorms."

Takuma nodded. He replied, "There is one more thing you might want to explore while the opportunity is still there. You go light on familiars most of the time, but you can produce them in very large numbers. As things are, our senses and those of our allies have been obfuscated. You might not be able to replicate things at the same scale, but I believe the nature of your familiars and your capacity for producing them might be sufficient to give us a few curtains of opacity."

"What do you think the best spots for that are?" Yuuki asked. She wasn't certain that she could meet Takuma's expectations in this, but she wasn't about to shoot down the idea. This was one of those situations where she needed to command firmly, and worry about adjusting later.

"If you can screen the highest tower of the Moon dorm, and the whole Sun dorm, it should be enough to mitigate the advantage the enemy currently has," Takuma said.

Yuuki frowned. "I get the tower, but why the entire Sun dorm?"

Hanabusa heaved an exasperated sigh, drawing out an aggravated look from Yuuki. They had been friends for a long time, and one thing that always rankled Yuuki was how much easier he grasped things than she did-- and how much it obviously irritated him to need to explain it. He chimed in, " _Un_ fortunately, our strongest attack options are those hunters. If the enemy can't be sure what they're up to in their most vulnerable starting position, they'll have to act more cautiously. They'll slow down and give us a chance to overtake their plans. It also makes it easier for a smaller number of people to defend that building, leaving more of the hunters able to act freely."

"You don't have to act like it's the most obvious thing in the world," Yuuki complained.

Hanabusa was about to retort when a familiar presence slipped into the peripheries of his awareness.

"Kaname?" Yuuki was the first once to voice her surprise. Her brother hadn't been interested in supporting Cross Academy. Why would he be here? Without bothering to explain, she made for the front door of the Moon dorm and broke into a run.

⁂⁂⁂

Representatives from Day and Night classes alike collapsed towards the front drive of Cross Academy as Kaname's car pulled up to the reception area. He climbed out of the car easily, gesturing for Lars to follow him and smiling politely at his driver in passing.

Kaname halfway expected to be received by his uncle, but when he entered the Academy's lobby he found himself faced by a small crowd instead. He felt Lars fall in at his flank, and felt a spike of agitation at the man's presence. Perhaps he had been too bold bringing him here-- and yet...

"Did you... change your mind about Cross Academy, Kaname?" Yuuki stepped out of the crowd. Her voice was tentatively hopeful, and to him she had a scent like honey-sweetened water.

He hated to disappoint her as much as he knew he was going to.

"I'm just here to visit for a little while," Kaname said, glancing up towards the ceiling, "and to discuss this ominous feeling that hangs over the mountainside. But I'm happy to see you again, Yuuki. It's been cold and dark without your brilliance shining at the edge of the horizon."

Yuuki blushed at Kaname's praise, but looked more crestfallen by his refusal to remain than she was embarrassed.

"Well," she said, smiling weakly, "we're all glad to have you here, even if it is just as a visitor. Who is your friend?"

Kaname glanced back at Lars. "I will allow him to introduce himself. He is more of an 'employee' than a friend, though I hope he will eventually come around to me."

"Laurentius Nilsen, private investigator. You can call me Lars," Lars introduced himself, bowing politely.

Standing a few yards away with Hanabusa, Takuma frowned. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he was sure he had seen this Lars somewhere before.

"We're very pleased to have you at Cross Academy, Laurentius," Yuuki said to Lars, her lips curling into a more sincere smile.

Lars had worked among vampires and even hunters for a long time now. He had seen them warm and cold, sincere and disingenuous, almost human and barely human. But there was something about Yuuki that seemed distinct, untainted. Even apart from his natural attraction to her blood, she had a pleasant smell, like homemade hot cocoa.

"Thank you," he said, expertly obfuscating his internal reaction to maintain a professional veneer.

One cluster of the group that had come to meet him was set apart from Yuuki's. Two of them Kaname knew personally, the others by reputation and passing professional contact. He was about to call attention to them when Zero and Ichiru stepped forward together. It was unusual, almost alien, to see the pair move with such united intent. There was a time when that was the norm, but that was before Ichiru's illness caught up with him. Their scents were utterly neutral to Kaname. Truly like water, though he suspected there would be subtle differences in taste were he to partake of them.

"This is a suspicious time for you to appear. Explain yourself," Zero said.

"You can't talk to Lord Kaname like..." Hanabusa began to object, only to trail away when Yuuki began to move. He stared balefully past her towards Zero, a look of tremendous disgust on his face.

Once again, Yuuki was left imagining a battleship cruising up to a tugboat and laying into it. She circled around Ichiru to Zero's opposite side, tugging lightly at his sleeve and giving him a questioning look.

Zero glanced back at Yuuki, the intensity of his gaze softening by degrees, but looked back to Kaname wordlessly.

Kaname smiled pleasantly, and answered, "I was coming to speak to Chairman Cross about the group that was plotting to steal the blood tablet production equipment near the beginning of term. It so happened that I was the first victim of this 'suspicious time', and my arrival was delayed when a small army of familiars badly damaged my vehicle."

Hanabusa piped up to confirm, "Lord Kaname told Kain and I to hold up for a little while so he could catch the would-be thief in the act."

"Did you?" Zero asked.

"You could say that," Kaname replied. "But I don't think I'll be discussing it at length out in the open like this, Mr. Kiryu." 

It was just then that Kaien Cross arrived. He had a hurried look to him, but did not present himself as particularly worried, at least. Everyone turned their heads to look at him, the tension between hunters and vampires gradually building to a peak-- and then falling away entirely when Kaien wrapped his arm around Kaname's shoulders and started steering him down the opposite corridor.

"I'm so glad my precious nephew came around! We'll get you fitted for a Night class uniform right away," Kaien declared, beaming brilliantly as he went.

"H-hold on, that's not..." Kaname muttered, but he didn't attempt to extricate himself. The pair quickly exited earshot.

Lars stared blankly for a moment, and then drifted after them at a distance.

Yuuki and Zero looked at each other, and then began to follow after Kaien and Kaname as well.

"... Well, this got dull. See you." Kaito said, and left.

"H-he just stole Lord Kaname," Hanabusa said to Takuma, in disbelief.

"That's just how the Chairman is," Takuma said, amiably.

"You two," Toga had remained a silent observer throughout most of this, but now that the disruption had passed he moved to stand near the Night class students that had come to reception.

Hanabusa tensed at Toga's approach, his eyes narrowing.

Takuma patted Hanabusa on the shoulder and answered, "Yes, Professor Yagari?"

"It isn't Night class hours yet. You had a prefect escort before, but your 'Princess' seems to have forgotten about that," Toga turned his head slightly to look down the corridor. "This was extraordinary enough that I won't count it as rule breaking, but even so, you need to get back to your dorm. Ichiru..."

Ichiru nodded and gestured for the pair to follow him, heading down the corridors opposite those that Kaien and the others had taken.

Takuma fell in beside Ichiru easily, while Hanabusa trailed along behind them reluctantly, wearing a sour expression on his face.

"How is your hemothaumaturgy project coming?" Takuma asked Ichiru, conversationally.

"Irritating. Getting the symbols to sympathize has been rough," Ichiru said.

"You need to be _very_ precise. It's tiresome to get it right," Takuma agreed.

⁂⁂⁂

Rido's multitude of bodies hung among the trees, listening, watching. He knew better than to rush in now, and yet the temptation to do so was ever-present. He coped with it by animating dormant bodies to 'play' with in distant locales. A tempting scent would reach him through a bat or a wolf, and hundreds of miles away he would spring out of the gloom of a dark forest and devour a woodsman who had been unfortunate enough to stray too close.

The hunters that prowled that school were the worst of it, though. Occasionally he would get too close, and they would see through the blanket of his presence towards the particular entity that he peered through. Most of them carried guns, and all of them were skillful with them. A gunshot would ring out, and one of his bodies would disappear with a brief sting like he had scraped his knee against rough pavement.

That made him angry. What made him angrier though, was the 'thing' that lurked in the dormitory used by the hunters. It was not a man, not a hunter. Rido was not certain exactly what it was, only that it seemed to understand his presence better than most. Familiars would disappear abruptly if they strayed too close to the entrances of that place. It could have been blood magic, but if so it was blood magic that he wasn't able to identify from outside.

At times, observing the shade of Juri had calmed him-- and others, incensed him beyond belief. She was even gentler than Haruka and Juri were, and deferred to all sorts of whelps and wretches that were beneath her. On top of that, the scent of someone else lingered thickly around her, but whenever he drew closer to try to identify that person it was like he had slipped into a hunter's snare. A flash of pink was all he took away from those scouting attempts. If that weren't bad enough, the boy had made his way up through the mountains along with his slave.

"Lord Rido," Torvald said. His voice came from a long way off.

Rido grunted his acknowledgment, but did not pull himself back to that body fully.

"Preparations are complete," Torvald said, bowing low. "You have not specified an objective for this next incursion."

Rido produced a folder from the side of his chair and threw it at Torvald, who had to scramble to stop it from opening and sending its contents everywhere.

"Asato identified a few key figures. Humans. Kill them. And bring me Juri," he growled.

Torvald opened the folder, but Rido's final command was nonsensical. He glanced between the folder and Rido, and asked, "Juri?"

"Her daughter. The one whose blood you obtained before," Rido corrected himself.

"And how do you propose that I do that? She could command me to leave if I stayed in her presence that long," Torvald inquired, cautiously.

The seeping of Rido's presence began to flow backwards, collecting more heavily in his primary body. His eyes glinted for an instant as he glowered down at his servant. Torvald felt as if he was being faced down by an enormous cobra, its hood flared, tongue tasting the air as it swayed in place, prepared to strike or spit.

Rido knew that Torvald was right, of course. So what was the best way to take that woman for himself? If he got her close enough her fledgling power wouldn't be enough to cope with his, even bound.

" **Kill one of her friends and tell her that Rido sends his regards** ," Rido commanded, quietly. Less had lured Juri to him in the past, and he doubted that girl would be much different. Especially if she was the sort to sabotage their rule and command docility in deference to humans.

It was a stupid order that would compromise their advantages the moment it was carried out. Even for Rido, it was against his best interests. Torvald knew it, and he knew that Lord Ichijo would not approve of it. But it seeped into his consciousness rapidly, and as it did so his resistance to the notion died, as did all thoughts of alerting Asato. His eyes dulled and dimmed, a dreamy contentedness supplanting his higher consciousness.

"Yes, Lord Rido."

Rido smiled, and dreamed of the past. The sensation of biting his tensed, resisting sister; the texture of subtly tearing muscle joined with the taste of terror.

"Tell your sister to collect some of the brother's blood," he added dully, as a complete afterthought.

Torvald bowed, and left.

⁂⁂⁂

Abandoning their borrowed cottage had been necessary, but Tomio still didn't like it very much. He had been close to finished with chopping firewood when that aggravating nobleman had turned up and spoiled it all. On top of that, Shizuka had gone out of her way to annoy and humiliate him while she kicked him out.

"Do you think it was wise to provoke that man?" Tomio asked, adjusting the bearing of the boat.

It was, by the standards of someone like Shizuka Hio, quite modest. It was a houseboat, a little over sixty feet long. It didn't have the stylings of a yacht; it was rough around the edges and a bit ugly, with a canopy-covered exposed upper deck sporting a plastic slide down into the water below. The hull was white with a single navy blue stripe. The interior was a couple of decades out of date, with wallpaper that Tomio found obnoxiously old-fashioned, and which Shizuka had presented herself as utterly indifferent to. If Tomio had to identify its owner, he would've assumed that it belonged to an upper middle class rich man who had a great passion for riverboating, and decided to make his family tolerate his hobby.

They had taken it because it was a convenient way to make their trail disappear. The payment they left would be more than enough, although Tomio's stomach squirmed with discomfort when he imagined the reactions. This place might have been very sentimental to somebody, somewhere.

Shizuka leaned over the operator's seat, draping her arms down its back to lay against Tomio's chest. She rested her chin on the top of his head and hummed thoughtfully. After a while, she said, "Wisdom didn't have anything to do with it. He spoiled our good time, and his master will want to spoil us. The only way I could avoid that is if I accepted his invitation, and the consequence of that would be just as ugly in the end."

"You haven't talked about having been engaged before," Tomio replied.

"That man," Shizuka murmured, a tiny mote of distress working its way through her amused facade, "never wanted a 'partner'. He desires a lovely doll to have collared at his feet, to use when he feels the urge and to be silent and obedient when he doesn't. A brood queen to give him 'worthy' heirs, and to be eaten up once her purpose is fulfilled and he has grown tired of her."

"His siblings are equally dull," she carried on, "but they are decent. I wouldn't have minded a taste of Haruka, once. But it would be _so_ boring to be Queen to any of them. You're much more fun."

Tomio snorted. "Ah, yes. A virgin sacrifice for the Prince's future Queen. A very worldly and expansive background."

"Yes," Shizuka whispered and kissed the top of his head, "it is. And it makes me very happy that you share it with me."

Tomio made an agitated noise, his face flushing furiously. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it, of course, but he never could get used to her strange mixture of almost sadistic teasing joined up with sincere affection.

"Let me steer in peace," he said, half-heartedly.

Shizuka hummed, as if contemplating it, but didn't budge an inch.


	15. I Won't

* * *

Yuuki and Zero stood outside of Chairman Cross's office, situated on either side of the door. Standing against the opposite wall was Lars, who couldn't help but be agitated. His transformation into a vampire had completed some time ago, but there were still things about it that he was quite unused to. The way that his body instinctively weighed the people around him, and rankled against subtle aggravations.

Occasionally, when somebody moved too quickly around him, he wanted to dart after them, like a cat spotting a mouse or a bug. In this particular case however, he was troubled in an entirely different way. Even though she had a more pleasant smell by far, the young lady was a colossus who -- in spite of a slim frame -- he knew could squash him like a bug. The young man, on the other hand...

That was a different problem entirely. Lars thought that Zero could tell precisely what sort of body language not to use to set him off, which unsettled him on several different levels. He hadn't been specific about being a vampire, even though it probably couldn't have been too subtle, since he arrived with Kaname. It was as if he was being watched by an animal handler who was quite comfortable with where things were just now, and not at all concerned with where they _might_ go.

One fear was primal, and the other intellectual, and Lars didn't like that they had fallen in together the way they had.

Putting on a perfectly convincing fake smile, he nodded towards Zero, "I know who Lady Kuran is, of course. And I think I know you, but presently you have me at a disadvantage."

"Zero Kiryu," Zero answered. He nodded in acknowledgement, but pointedly didn't offer his hand or any other pleasantries.

"A pleasure. Did I, er, do something to upset you?" Lars asked.

"No," Zero said, "but your presence isn't less suspicious than Kaname's."

Yuuki reached across the doorway and pushed against Zero's elbow with her fist. "Zero, be nice. He hasn't done anything, and if they were attacked, we can at least be sure they're not up to the same thing as what's out there."

Zero looked down at Yuuki's outstretched hand. He nodded, and was silent for a while longer. Tension lingered thickly in the air.

Then, he said, "Fleeing into the arms of an infiltration target while taking fire from one's original employer is a classic ingratiation strategy. I won't take for granted that he is trustworthy."

Lars chuckled. It was something that he ought to have concealed, but he didn't particularly feel like it. Besides, he thought that some measure of sincerity would be the best cloak against an excess of annoying probing. He nodded and pointed at Zero, "He has the right of it. Only way it would be more of a classic ploy is if I actually took a visible injury coming in here. Not that I want you to think of me as an enemy... establishing rapports is important in my line of business, too, you know."

"I don't want to think that way," Yuuki replied, sulkily. She sank back against the wall, visibly relaxing in a way that Zero was simply refusing to do. "It's too depressing."

"It's fine. Let me worry about these things," Zero said.

Yuuki glared at Zero in a way that was neither aggravated or neutral.

Lars couldn't tell what it meant, save that it was meaningful between them. He hoped that everyone in this place wasn't _that_ paranoid. If so, he was going to be done before he even got started.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Kaien sat behind his desk, his hands bridged in front of him. His usually cheery demeanor had died a few minutes ago, when Kaname had begun his explanation of what had transpired three months ago. He pushed his thumbs against each other, back and forth, deeply uneasy about these developments. Of course, he knew that he was inviting trouble, but vampires usually operated on longer timetables than this. He had expected to have to play a long game, which would eventually be passed on to a successor.

"Do you think that Takuma is involved?" he asked, calmly.

"That is a part of what I came to ascertain," Kaname said, "but based on his reaction to my appearance and what I've said so far, I don't think so. I don't think that Takuma ever aspired to be like his grandfather. If he isn't, I'd like to discharge Lars into his employ. He won't be safe remaining in my company."

Taking a deep breath, Kaien nodded. "Kaname, what you're doing is very dangerous. I appreciate 'support from the shadows', but someone who works only in the shadows can be made to disappear into them. If you really wish to support Cross Academy, then, please..."

Kaname smiled, but shook his head. "I must decline."

"I realize," he said, "that must seem self-contradictory. But it's like I said during the party. If I were here I would be redundant, and the truth is that if we are to measure these things fairly, Yuuki belongs in the light more than I do. Her heart is attached not just to people, but also to ideals. There is something that she wants, passionately, to change about the world. I don't... feel such an admirable thing."

Kaien sighed, and shut his eyes. How frustrating these children were, but the fact that they were frustrating brought a smile to his lips all the same. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and opened his eyes again. "You're both like Juri in that way. Once you get in your head that you're going to do something in a certain way, there's not a thing that can be done to put a stop to it."

"I'm sorry to be so troublesome, uncle," Kaname answered.

"No," Kaien said, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "you're not."

"... Well. I _am_ sorry for the distress that it brings, at least."

"How long will you be staying?" Kaien asked.

Reclining in his chair, Kaname looked out the window at his uncle's back, "I suppose... 'until the storm breaks'."

"In that case," Kaien rose abruptly, jerking a drawer open.

Kaname made a questioning noise.

Kaien pulled something that Kaname didn't quite catch from the drawer and sprang over the desk to his side. Before he could even parse what was going on, Kaname found his arm being gingerly drawn to full extension and... a measuring tape being drawn along its length.

" **You'll still be needing a uniform**!" Kaien declared, happily.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

A little while later, Kaien cracked the door and poked his head out into the hallway. He beamed and said, "They'll be staying a few days, at least. I still have some business with my darling nephew, so--!"

He shut the door and locked it.

Lars looked questioningly between Yuuki and Zero. Zero shrugged and started to leave, clearly expecting to be followed. They arrived several minutes later at an outbuilding along the outskirts of the grounds, across the gardens from the main building. Rows of hedges with stone paths stood between the main building and the one that Zero led the way to, though he went around rather than take the stone paths.

It wasn't until they were inside that Zero finally stopped. The building was two stories, furnished how Lars would expect of dedicated guest quarters-- a little shabby, about what he'd expect of the main dormitories, but not nearly unacceptably so. There was a fire in the fireplace in the common area just inside the door. He supposed at least some of the employees must live here.

"Since you're an adult guest you'll have freedom of movement. You'll also be treated as a feral if you bite somebody," Zero warned.

Yuuki groaned in exasperation. "Can't you stop being so standoffish? Kaname's guest isn't going to act out like that!"

"It's alright, it's alright," Lars said, raising both of his hands in a gesture of submission. "I'm a stranger here, so it's natural to say such a thing."

"There is no need for me to strain credulity pretending to be hospitable, since you're here," Zero said to Yuuki.

"Ah! That's right..." Yuuki tugged a paper packet from her front pocket and offered it to Lars. "You're not from here, but maybe you've heard of these. If you dissolve them in water and drink them, they'll help you feel full. They, um... they don't taste very good, but..."

Lars took the packet, turning it over in his hands. So this is what he had been trying to steal the means of making. He completed Yuuki's thought, "But the idea is to reduce or eliminate the need to feed on people. I understand. Work on the flavor, and I'm sure you'll have a hell of a product."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

They were hardly a few steps outside the guest house before Zero reacted to something that Yuuki could scarcely perceive amidst the haze of the oppressing presence that blanketed them.

Zero drew Bloody Rose and fired above one of the hedges, turning a blur of motion that was swooping towards him into so much vapor. The pink flare of the weapon traveled into the distance and dispersed after catching the bat-shaped familiar. He gave a sharp little snort that Yuuki interpreted as disdainful, and then resumed walking. This time however, he stepped onto the stone paths through the hedges.

This exchange left Yuuki feeling a deep sense of foreboding. It wasn't the first time she'd seen Zero notice something that nobody else seemed to-- and it was happening more frequently. Last time the target had been her... why were the familiars so focused on Zero? She came around his left side and laced her arm through his, leaning against him as they walked. He adjusted for the difference in stride and glanced down at her.

"I'm worried," Yuuki admitted, after a few paces. That wasn't the whole truth, but she didn't want to say what she really felt out loud. There was a lot to be worried about, but the true conclusion to that thought was _about you_. Some squirming, superstitious part of her didn't want to say it for the world to hear, in case somehow the observation made it into a reality.

"It's fine," Zero said.

"You don't know that," Yuuki replied, unhappily. She rested her head against his arm and closed her eyes, allowing him to take complete control of where they were walking.

Zero hummed neutrally. "There's no use in counting on the worst."

"Just because you can freeze up your insides and act like nothing is wrong doesn't mean I can, Zero," she replied, grumpily.

Zero's shoes scuffed the stone path abruptly. Yuuki opened her eyes and blinked up at him in confusion. He looked upset. It wasn't terribly obvious, and if they hadn't spent so much time together she didn't think she would have noticed it. It was like trying to watch a movie with random frames and scenes cut out. Tiny elements of meaning came together to form an explanation, but he had so few of them that if you blinked you would miss them.

"Do you really think--"

"No," Yuuki answered before he even finished, but she could still tell that her complaint had stung, and she had no idea how to make that better. It just made her feel even more anxious than she did to begin with. "But I... wish that I didn't feel so helpless, and you always act like you're in complete control. I feel like we could be caught in a hurricane out to sea and you'd never flinch."

Zero sighed. He wanted to pull away. Or more accurately, he didn't want to feel exposed like this. In this, they were opposites. The prospect of conflict and true malice unnerved and troubled Yuuki, while sincerity and expression had the same effect on Zero. In both cases, though...

"Practice," he said.

The intense stare that Yuuki shot up at him was confused, uncertain. _Is he making fun of me?_ she wondered.

"Practice... getting worried?" she asked.

"Practice steadiness in spite of being worried," he corrected.

Zero holstered Bloody Rose, and pressed his fingertip to Yuuki's breast, directly over her heart. "This part of you... will always betray you in the moment, if you haven't taught it what to do. So first you put yourself in a simulated scenario like the one that troubles you, and then you work to behave in the manner that suits the situation. If, for instance, I swung at you right now... wouldn't you know what to do with Artemis?"

"Sweep aside and come about with the other end," Yuuki said. "Does that mean you're worried, even when I can't tell?"

Zero nodded and said, "Kaien is the same way, but his presentation is different."

Yuuki screwed up her face in concentration, imagining every instance of her uncle in high-pressure situations that she'd ever experienced. Almost every single case was the same. "Y-you mean, whenever he acts goofy, he's actually--!"

She made a flat, expressionless face in imitation of Zero's ordinary stoic expression.

"... Something like that," he replied. Zero resumed walking, his agitation either convincingly hidden or extinguished. It bothered Yuuki that she couldn't tell which it was. Even if she hadn't meant it, she didn't mean to make him feel... like she thought that he was as heartless as he sometimes presented. An annoyed corner of Yuuki's mind reminded her that, in fact, he was the one who cultivated that outward appearance. She couldn't be held responsible for tripping over every hidden sensitivity.

They were halfway through the hedges when Zero said, "I'm worried... that my brother might die, that you could be hurt, that your and Kaien's dream might be broken beyond repair even if nothing else goes wrong. My power to do something about those things is better than most. I'm sure that I can secure some of those worries. But 'some of them' is inadequate."

"You're not worried about what might happen to you?" Yuuki questioned, gently. A thrill of fear rushed through her-- she shouldn't have said it aloud.

"I'm a hunter. It's rare that we die of anything natural," he said.

Yuuki wished that she hadn't asked even more than she already did. It was a statement that made her veins fill with ice and her stomach twist into a knot. She hadn't given much thought to her relative mortality to Zero-- not before, and certainly not recently. It simply wasn't an immediate concern. The idea that he wasn't worried about his own potential death _because it was almost guaranteed to be violent_ was already unacceptable, but the entire line of thinking sent her mind spinning off into different directions. Her parents were three thousand years old, and her grandparents almost twice that when they died. How long could she possibly have with Zero, really? The thought didn't just make her upset, it rankled something deep inside that loathed not being in control.

Loathed being told **no**.

The smell of Zero's blood had drawn her in and captivated her, and the man himself... he wasn't an easy person to get to know and live with. But he was trying so hard, and she still wanted that earnest effort with all of her being, even punctuated with the pains and frustrations along the way. It was **hers**. Her own. No one else's-- not time's, and certainly not death's.

"I refuse," she declared, stubbornly.

"Refuse... what?" Zero questioned, baffled by this reaction.

"To let you die. I won't allow it," Yuuki said, resting her head against his arm and looking sidelong up at him.

"Is that so," he said, a mote of amusement shining through his surface indifference.

But it was no laughing matter for Yuuki. She adjusted the way she was walking with him, wrapping both her arms around the one that she already held. It was a possessive, forceful grip, if not so much that it made Zero uncomfortable or forced him to stop. A ring of red flashed across her eyes, not the bloodying effect of a vampire running out of control, but the deliberately wielded might of a nascent divinity asserting itself clearly.

"Yes," Yuuki said, "that is so."

Zero nodded in assent. "Do you need a meal?"

Yuuki frowned, releasing her hold and stepping in front of Zero to push lightly against his chest. "Don't try to change the subject like that! We were talking about something really serious. Zero, I need you to--"

"Would it break your heart less if I broke a promise not to die?" Zero interrupted.

"Don't," Yuuki pleaded, pushing Zero back against the nearest hedgerow, "don't say things like that. Please don't..."

Zero took Yuuki's hand between his own, untroubled by being handled in such a way, but perfectly aware that it wasn't getting them anywhere. To someone like Yuuki... was this the first time she had reckoned with such a thing?

He promised, "I won't... leave your side willingly, Yuuki."

It was so fast. Everything about them had seemed breakneck and frantic, coming in dramatically rapid fits and starts. It was hard to imagine that it had all begun with a dance a few months ago, the thunder of a bullet just a few days later. No... 'they' had begun before that, even if they hadn't thought of things like that in those days. Even so, Yuuki wondered if she was asking too much.

The feeling of Zero's hands releasing hers brought her back to the present. Yuuki thought she had scared him off, finally-- but he stepped to her right and took her right hand in his left, lacing his fingers with hers. His expression didn't change, but she understood the intent behind the action. Talking like this... it must really be wearing him out. But physical reassurance, that was something he could do without feeling uncomfortable in his own skin, or so she thought.

"Thank you, Zero," she said, quietly.

He didn't answer aloud, but squeezed her hand. The gloomy feeling that had hovered over Yuuki began to melt away, the tension that she had been accumulating without realizing it gradually abating.

"You too," Yuuki said.

They reached the main doors. Zero paused, looking at her questioningly.

"I won't leave your side willingly, Zero," Yuuki echoed.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

The remainder of the day passed in relative quiet, though the feeling of foreboding intensified and beat down upon Cross Academy like a hot, angry sun on a cloudless summer day. No one was in the mood to stay outside, and classes passed with the agonizing lethargy that anything only does when all eyes are focused not on what is happening, but on the excruciatingly slow ticking of the clock.

Each of those who knew what was imminent went about their preparations...

Kaien Cross harassed Kaname unproductively, eventually managing to force him into a Night class uniform. Towards the end, he added, "... and you should give Juri a call. She's been worried about you."

Takamiya Kaito was absent from classes, having hijacked the machine shop in order to work on his improvised grenades.

Ichiru disappeared to the Moon dorm to talk hemothaumaturgy homework with Takuma, but was intercepted by Maria when he tried to leave. Reluctantly, he agreed to try dissolving a blood tablet in some tea. It still wasn't good to him, but they managed to make it considerably more tolerable than a liquefied rusty nail.

"I'm glad. It makes you smell much nicer, too," Maria remarked.

Ichiru got uncomfortable and left after that.

Toga taught about a quarter of one class before getting fed up with how disengaged everyone was.

"We're wasting time, all of you get some rest and be prepared for your next class. Class dismissed," he said. Toga's classrooms all had hastily-scribbled CANCELLED signs taped to their doors.

Yuuki went about her day as-normal, save for being a little more downcast than she usually was. Even she wasn't immune to the atmosphere.

When she went with Zero to conduct the gate rotation, she said, "I'm going to go take a nice, long bath before our next class."

Zero nodded. He had been even quieter than usual, and Yuuki assumed that he was just worn out. He hadn't even bothered trying to intimidate Day class students to hurry along to their dormitory. Not that he really needed to. This had quickly become a 'go back to bed and forget the world exists' kind of dreary day for the majority of them.

"I have some things to take care of. We can meet once you're done," he said.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Ichiru was sitting alone, staring at a packet of blood tablets on his desk when a knock came at his door. He could feel who it was on the other side as easily as if they stood beside one another. He wasn't sure he felt like company right now, but suspected that there was strategy to be discussed.

"Come in," he said.

Zero entered, shutting the door behind him. He strode over to the desk and sat on one of the clear edges of it, glancing towards the blood tablets. Ichiru braced for a question, but it never came. Instead, Zero lifted the receiver of his phone from its cradle and began to dial.

"What are you doing?"

"We should probably talk to mom and dad," Zero answered.

Ichiru frowned. He would have objected, but Zero's statement was quite precise. It wasn't that 'he' wanted to talk to their parents. He thought _they_ should. Circumstances being what they were, Ichiru couldn't disagree-- even if he found the line of thinking fatalist.

Zero situated the receiver roughly between them, and Ichiru leaned in to accommodate. It rang quite a while before anybody picked up, which was just par for the course in their household.

"Yes?" The woman's voice was impatient, businesslike.

"Mom," Zero greeted.

"Mother," Ichiru followed him.

There was a pause.

Ylva Kiryu had a voice like a stage whisper. She was perfectly audible, but it was hard to imagine that she wasn't trying to deliberately invoke a husky affect. Her outward demeanor swayed back and forth like the needle of a meter in use, approachable enough on first contact but strangely guarded all the same.

"I'm happy to hear from you, boys, but... you know this is around our patrol time. I almost didn't answer. Is something the matter?" Ylva asked.

"We have it handled," Zero said.

"But we still wanted to talk," Ichiru amended.

"I see," Ylva said, and though she added nothing more to the thought, there was a little too much understanding in how she said it.

"Then, how is school going? Are you getting along with the Night class?"

"As much as we can," Zero answered.

"Which is rather a lot in Zero's case," Ichiru added.

"Weren't you just with Ichijo?"

Ichiru offered a grumpy, reluctant affirmative.

Ylva chuckled, and replied, "I'm happy that you're having such a normal time at Cross Academy. Your father and I trust Kaien, but we weren't certain that what he wanted to do was something the world was ready for. How are Yuuki and Kaito doing?"

Zero said, "Yuuki is alright. She's dealing with a lot of new things."

"Kaito is making bombs. How is father?" Ichiru asked.

"Slowly losing his patience, I expect," Ylva said, dryly.

"We'll let you go. Fight well, mom," Zero said.

"Goodbye, mother," Ichiru said.

"You two..." Ylva's voice was mildly strained. "Take care of each other."

Ichiru and Zero heard a click. Zero returned the receiver to its cradle.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Ylva swallowed harshly as she hung up the phone. Her sons could take care of themselves, even Ichiru-- but she did not like the sound of any of that. She strode out the front door, bolting it behind her.

Shiro was seated along the stone railing, staring up into the sky.

The pair of them were dressed to match, in white button-downs with black waistcoats and trousers, and matching overcoats. They looked like they were going to a mildly high-brow party, or perhaps to work in a particularly fancy eatery. This, of course, was simply a cover. Tonight, they were out on a hunt.

Shiro was about as tall as his sons, but rather more broad on anything but the most cursory of inspections. If they were compared side-by-side, the only thing that would separate him facially from his sons was visible age and a slightly stronger jawline. A jian with a copper green hilt hung at his waist, partially obscured beneath his coat.

Ylva was as tall as Shiro, a little more powerfully built for her physique, though it was concealed by her smaller frame. Her dirty blonde hair was drawn up into a neat bun, bound by a pair of sticks that doubled as auxiliary weapons. Her actual weapon, a series of filament wires, was not visible. Her sons resembled her most strongly in their facial features, which were much softer than her husband's.

"We're going to Cross Academy in the morning," Ylva said.

"Must have been... a really worrying phone call," Shiro replied.

"Of the 'I'm not sure we'll get the chance to speak again' variety, from _Zero_ ," Ylva explained.

"Ah."

Shiro rose, and descended the steps. "They can take care of themselves. I'm sure it'll be fine."

Ylva followed him, nodding. "That's the only reason we're not getting our go bags and going right this moment."

"Giving them a chance to get by without us, without abandoning them to the wolves entirely?" Shiro asked.

"... Yeah."

Shiro snorted, pausing along the sidewalk to look back at his wife. "Yeah... but you'd rather go and dice whatever is asking for trouble to bits?"

Ylva offered a sly smile, but said nothing.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ 

Zero had been dozing in bed for half an hour before his doorknob rattled lightly. Were it not for the perfect silence of that time of early morning in the Sun dorm, he might not have heard it. He stirred lightly, rising to enough consciousness to recognize the aural silhouette of who was coming in. Briefly, he also felt the approach of one of the familiars that seemed obsessed with him. An aural pulse followed by the dispersal of the familiar told him that Kaito had made sure his window was covered by Weeping Larkspur.

Yuuki crept inside, latching the door behind her. She was still in uniform, but carried a midsized shoulder bag that Zero assumed was her idea of a go bag. He shut his eyes again and breathed out slowly. The sound of shuffling and the adjustment of clothing told him she was changing.

When he felt her weight on the other side of the bed Zero opened his eyes. Yuuki was wearing flannel midnight blue pajamas with a button-down top and loose cord-drawn bottoms, decorated with stars. He shut his eyes again immediately after, mumbling a greeting that didn't come out particularly coherent.

"If you're going to," he said, "drink now."

Yuuki settled in against Zero's side and replied with a sleepy, " _Nuh uh_. I'm not going to do anything to weaken you right now."

Zero grunted.

"This is a bad habit we've gotten into," he said, a little while later.

" _Mmn_. Do you mind?" Yuuki asked.

Zero stared up at the ceiling. He was exhausted, and his filters were nearly gone. It made it easier to answer earnestly without feeling as if he had to pry it out of his own desperate grip. Soft touches and painfully numb arms, brushes of fabrics and lips, awkward moments induced by facefulls of hair, disturbing tossing and turning, and even the occasional snoring. It was a deeply imperfect arrangement. But no amount of guilt for breaking rules or aggravation at imperfection could have outweighed that simple truth in the scales of Zero's mind:

That to her, he wasn't just a loaded gun.

"No," he murmured, his eyes drifting shut again, "I won't give this up."

Yuuki answered by pressing an appreciative kiss to his shoulder, and they said no more.


	16. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everything comes to a head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Content warnings** : Violence.

* * *

No one expected the attack to come in the morning. Few vampires were so feeble that they couldn't move about in day, but the slipping away of night and darkness still marked a low point of their power. The sun aggravated and rankled, and usually they were closer to having just gone to sleep than to waking again. The trouble began just after the earliest classes started, but before the majority of the school had stirred to wakefulness at all.

It was a time that existed at the intersection of least situational awareness for all of the people who lived and worked at the Academy. Just as they had before, 'someone' rolled an unnatural bank of fog across the grounds, dramatically reducing visibility all around.

Toga was teaching his first class when the change caught his attention just outside the windows. There was a blip on the horizon, like a dot on sonar, which represented the vampire performing the change. He had sensed it last time, too, but then it hadn't been anything he could do anything about. It had been totally invulnerable to reprisal as a consequence of that, but this time it would be different. Only question was... why wasn't an attack commencing simultaneously with that?

"Stay put," he told his class, leaving and shutting the door behind him.

The Sun dorm was guarded. Familiars fell in out of the mist to test its defenses one last time, and at last Rido was given an answer as to precisely what was thwarting him. Enormously oversized purple flowers opened up out of nearby greenery and trees, some having lazily crept up the side of the dormitory itself and then lingered there, dormant. Clouds of noxious fumes poured from their blooms, saturating the area in a sickly field that ate away at the familiars who strayed too close casually but once they entered a relatively short predetermined range, lances of purple light burst from their centers and vaporized even the larger wolf familiars.

Weeping Larkspur positively covered the Sun dormitory, its blooms acting as a series of defensive turrets. Though it was only the smallest portion of the overall grounds, none could approach without being mowed down and the plants had no sense of "sight" to be obfuscated by fog.

Kaito didn't wake the students who had yet to rise, despite being perfectly aware of the imminent danger. It would be easier if they had to modify less memories.

The Night class was slower to move. Too many of them were resting in this exact moment, and those that weren't were still waking up in reaction to the power being used around them.

Aido was one of the quickest to get moving. He looked like a cat that had been woken from a deep sleep, rumpled and aggravated, but he had zeroed in on the role he needed to fulfill and set out to do it almost before his support could catch up. Kain hurried along behind him, and Claudia fell in at Kain's flank soon after. All three were still in nightclothes too nice to be subjected to damp grass and lakeside moisture; it would've been hard for them to be much more conspicuous without putting deliberate effort into it. They passed Rima and Senri heading out, the emergence of whom seemed to serve as a silent signal for the attack proper to begin.

The scrabble of beasts moving out of the trees and into the open was audible nearly everywhere. Save for their breathing and the passage of their footsteps they were silent, and these were loud not for the individual but for the sheer number of them. They thundered past the Moon dorm towards the bridge, the lead familiar at the fore of them lunging towards the back of Senri's legs.

Before Rima and Senri had a chance to respond themselves, a gunshot came from the top of the main building and the wolf turned to vapor from the bullet that drilled through it. Senri nodded towards Rima and pricked his right index finger on one of his fangs, whirling in place. A streamer of blood emerged from his pierced fingertip, elongating and slashing through the air towards the wolves barreling at him. The three foremost beasts were wiped away by the assault, but a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth were hot behind them.

Rima made it across the bridge and lept towards the main building, crossing her arms in front of herself. The second floor classroom window, what was left of it, exploded around her as she tumbled into it. Scratched and bruised from the impact she stumbled forward and then resumed a full run, darting up the stairs and emerging on the roof where that distasteful man stood.

The crack of Toga's rifle was the only thing that had convinced Rima it was safe to allow Senri to do what he did. She found him wearing his pair of those goggles, staring down across the bridge and -- presumably, she could not see them yet -- picking off familiars that were managing to worm their way inside Senri's guard.

"At my feet, switch along the underside for power, toggle in the middle of the side to see through the fog, " Toga said.

She snatched the bag from the ground and quickly pulled the goggles onto her face. They were awkward, cumbersome, and by Rima's reckoning quite ugly. It wasn't the time for such criticisms, though.

As soon as Rima was in position and backing up Senri with bolts of lightning, Toga stopped firing. He cycled the last shell out and began to reload, swivelling about to stare off into the distance. There was nothing in particular out in that direction, at least not as far as Rima could see. What was he...?

Toga leveled his rifle, held his breath, and fired. Nothing happened. He cycled his weapon and fired again, once again evidently finding dead air. It was only on the third shot that something happened. A few moments afterwards the unnatural fog slowly began to thin, the process that had been sustaining it having abruptly ended.

A mile away along the riverbank, Elizabeth Norgaard felt a sudden atmospheric disturbance and drew the water in around her to protect herself against it. Something impacted the water and lost its momentum. A bullet? Yes, she decided, most definitely a bullet. But it wasn't the bullet that reached her. Something coexisted in the same space as the bullet and continued on beyond her pressure shield, a spiritual attack.

Elizabeth gasped and tried to get out of the way, and because of that the spiraling projectile _only_ drilled through her shoulder and out the other side. The point of contact was reduced at once to a grotesque ruin, the vitriolic bite of the hunter's weapon cancelling her natural healing as the force of it caused her to spin and collapse onto the deck of her boat. Her breaths came hard, and harsh, and ragged. Her arm was still there, but it wouldn't respond. There was too much damage.

With a great effort she turned herself over onto her stomach and crawled towards the front of the boat.

Toga clicked his tongue critically, but did not follow up the shot. He reloaded again and returned to overwatch on the grounds themselves.

Beneath the waters of the lake, Torvald Norgaard lingered in silence. His eyes were glassy and distant, a programmed urge remaining fixed in his mind. He had slipped through with the fog, just before the familiars began their assault, but he did not have full presence of mind. He was like a machine on an assembly line, waiting for the arrival of the pieces that would demand his attention. And yet... there was something uneasy within him. Something happened that stirred his consciousness.

The water of the lake ceased to flow downriver abruptly, a crack like thunder precipitated the receding of his sister's presence from the fog above. Something was wrong. Their approach had been anticipated. But...

Worry receded from Torvald's mind, replaced with cool acceptance of his directive. It was fine. So long as he accomplished this, Lord Rido would make up for the rest. This thought was, of course, absurd. Were he not under a compulsion, Torvald would never have arrived at such a ludicrous conclusion. But that was a part of the charisma and danger of a Pureblood, and why it was impossible to resist them. Most with a cruel bent would allow their subject to struggle against their commands, but those who wished true obedience snuffed out resistance by making their servant _want_ what they were commanded to do.

If Torvald was not subject to such a geas, he might have remarked that he preferred things that way, if he had to be commanded at all. Better not to experience unavoidable horror, if indeed it was unavoidable. But given his choice, he would have preferred to leave that wretched mountain, and his bindings.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Yuuki woke to the sensation of falling and the smell of blood. The former was because, as she quickly discovered, Zero had quite literally pushed her out of bed. She landed with an alarmed squawk, knocking things off of the bedside table as she crashed onto the floor. Her first instinct was to demand what he thought he was doing, treating her so roughly! But before the first syllable had reached her lips, he explained.

"We're under attack," Zero said.

As near as Yuuki could tell, Zero had woken up to the 'feeling' of the fighting and simply pushed her out of bed while retrieving Bloody Rose. He had it trained on the exterior-facing wall, adjusting his aim every now and then in accordance with some invisible cue that only he seemed to sense. She rubbed at her elbow irritably, seized Artemis out of one of her boots, and slipped into them.

Only once she was at the ready with Artemis at full extension did Zero take a moment to get halfway dressed. He didn't bother with shoes, but threw on a pair of dirty trousers and yesterday's shirt before heading out into the corridor.

As she had the opportunity to take in the situation outside, Yuuki's heart began to beat rapidly. The noise of it thundered in her ears. She could smell Senri's blood on the air, more than would've been usual for him to shed just to fight. His power meant that he definitely wouldn't bleed out, but even so, something must have tagged him well. Aido was on the other side of the grounds, but he must have completed his task because he was moving with Kain and Claudia towards the main building. Of the three, only Claudia smelled injured.

Ichiru emerged from his room at the same time as Yuuki followed after Zero. They looked at one another for the briefest of moments, and then went in their separate directions: Ichiru, inward, towards where Kaito was waiting in the common room; Yuuki, towards the front entrance of the Sun dorm.

Zero could feel familiars hurling themselves at the defenses. He had suspected at first that they would be a bigger problem than they accounted for, but he hadn't imagined it would be this bad. If some of them weren't drawn away, they would overrun this position-- Kaito could handle them, he knew. But that would mean their perimeter would be breached and the Sun dorm would have to be swept while protecting individuals. That was beyond implausible. They didn't have the numbers to cope with such a task, and people would die as a consequence.

"I'm going. Don't touch the purple flowers," Zero said.

"Wait, we need a--" she protested.

But Zero pushed out the front door and Yuuki immediately knew that the only thing she could do if she wanted to organize better was follow after him. Rushing out into the bright and uncomfortably warm morning, she raised Artemis in anticipation of imminent attack that never came towards her.

The instant Zero left the protective sphere of Weeping Larkspur and headed towards the bridge, dozens of familiars peeled off of the Sun dormitory and rushed him. Squealing, squeaking bats and snapping wolves barreled at him in a coordinated assault that was intended to obfuscate his line-of-sight and allow the wolves to hamstring him.

Yuuki charged their backs and swept Artemis along in a wide arc, taking advantage of the focused attention to send a half dozen wolves hurtling into the air and towards the lake. Ahead of her, Zero turned and fired into the air, reducing a cloud of bats to a handful of stragglers that managed to slip in and sink small, sharp fangs into him. It wasn't, she knew, the same as being bitten by a Pureblood directly.

To make a Familiar capable of inflicting transformation on a bitten victim was possible, but not with familiars this weak. It was less like making familiars, and more like making whole secondary bodies. Yuuki herself had never done it, but she knew that her grandparents were capable of this feat. Whether it was 'that' dangerous or not however, Yuuki grew thunderously angry at the sheer nerve of it. That was **hers**. This _interloper_ was stealing from her. Artemis plunged forward, more like a spear than a staff in that moment, smiting the familiars that tried to drink Zero's blood one after the other. 

She spared a glance towards the opposite bridge. Senri had just disentangled himself from a throng of wolves, sending them scattering around him before quite literally drawing his blood back into his body and manually holding it there. It was more than Yuuki had expected to have been drawn, but he wasn't in imminent need of rescue, either. Lightning bolts crashed down around him from above, buying him breathing room as he retreated into the main building.

Her attention was just about to turn to her familiars when a sharp pain struck her left leg. Yuuki swung Artemis reflexively, but didn't strike with enough force. The black wolf with its fangs locked firmly on her calf dug in painfully. Yuuki sucked in a pained breath, still as of yet unused to this sort of physical trauma. Another wolf took her right side and seized her by the elbow, jerking her arms into an awkward position to use her weapon.

The voice that came from the familiars was foreign to Yuuki. She was sure she had never heard it before, and yet, there was something about it that was quite familiar.

" **You reek, Juri,** " The familiar at her elbow growled.

Another of the wolves had managed to bowl Zero over and get him on the ground. It pushed in on him, snapping towards his neck-- but he reacted by forcing his forearm into its mouth. It clamped down reflexively, puncturing skin and drawing blood immediately. But before it could intensify its grip Bloody Rose's muzzle was pressed to its side and it vanished in a flash of pink.

" **Ah... I understand, now,** " the familiar on her leg snarled, " **it's him I smell on you. A hunter. A hunter!** " 

Miles away, seated in his throne, Rido's blood boiled at the very thought. Juri, sharing a bed with a hunter. Juri, partaking of his blood. Now that he had tasted each of them he could distinguish the intermingling. It was perverse and twisted in a way that would have appealed to him if it had been an exercise of power over a defeated foe, but it wasn't. Even here, separated from the familiars over whose tongues their blood ran, he could tell that it went deeper than that. Not a slave, not even a human toy. A dire enemy, whose every impulse was to wipe them away.

Even this disgusting thing had been chosen for the place that belonged to him. His familiar's jaws tightened around the girl's leg, pressing down with the threat of biting through to bone and beyond.

But before Rido could increase the pressure that much, a swirl of psychokinetic force wiped away the familiar that grasped Yuuki's wrist. Her eyes gleamed a hungry red when she brought Artemis about and crushed the skull of the familiar attempting to tear her leg off, its form dissipating like the disappearing fog. Rido's hands tightened on the sides of his throne, a sudden impulse of will urging his familiars elsewhere to withdraw and focus on these two.

Dozens of black wolves charged down the bridge from each direction. The first of them that charged from each side were dispatched abruptly by Zero as they lept towards them, twin silhouettes of stylized roses filling the air and turning them to ash. He rose to his feet and retreated to Yuuki's side, putting his back to hers.

"Close the gatehouse," he said, "it'll buy us a few seconds on that side."

Yuuki nodded and gestured shakily towards the open gate. It CLANGED shut atop one of the familiars passing through, bisecting it and reducing it to dust. The rest that charged them she applied a wide-spread burst of psychokinetic force to, temporarily halting their progress and forcing them to recover. She wasn't practiced or riled up enough to summon the force to simply smite them on such short notice, not while conducting the more restrained act of closing and locking the gate.

The sudden redirection of forces changed the nature of the battle elsewhere. Supporting fire directed to secure the Moon dorm bridge and exterior was turned towards the Sun dorm bridge instead. Bolts of lightning and gunfire poured in on the back line of the wolves, slowly beginning to thin them out.

There were still so many of them that Yuuki felt like they were in a cloud composed of this horrid person. If they were getting close to the end, surely the obfuscating effect of so many familiars would be lifting. But it wasn't.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Elizabeth reached the cooler and jerked it open with her good arm. She pulled one of the frigid plastic bags out and bit into it desperately, draining its contents in seconds. It was like she had been walking in a desert for days without drinking, baking beneath the cruelly burning sun. In a light frenzy she grabbed another blood pack and drained it, holding it to her lips and trying to extract just a little more from it as it mended her wound.

The pain in her shoulder eased, but did not stop. One of those infernal hunter weapons had been used to shoot her... how had they even gotten a bead on her? It didn't take long for her to figure it out. She was outside the boundaries of the area clouded by Lord Rido, and she was using her powers both heavily and in a gigantic area. Someone with sharp senses would have been able to use that fact to track her down.

But... 'track her down' and 'shoot her' were two different things.

Only that legendary killer could have done it.

Was it even possible for her given mission to succeed in the face of that? But... even if it wasn't, Torvald needed help. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. How was she going to get him out of there alive? Would he even cooperate? Elizabeth shook her head and directed the attention of her power towards her wounds, manipulating her own fluids to halt the loss of blood. Slowly, with some difficulty, she undressed and left her clothes next to Torvald's and plunged into the waters.

Going upstream was always more difficult than going downstream, and the water was bitterly cold. If it were night it would have been partially iced, though the warmth of the day would prevent it from remaining icy for long. Elizabeth twisted the water around her, secure in the knowledge that she would not be detected this way. Every so often she generated a bubble of air for herself, and took a breath.

Then she hit a wall, and immediately experienced a thrill of horror. There was a dam in the river that had not been there a little while before. Elizabeth placed her hand against the ice, and wondered if the enemy would know if she did anything to it.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The fog wouldn't last much longer, and with every breath he snatched from the surface, Torvald could smell the blood of the woman he had stolen from before. She had been injured, though he did not think particularly seriously. Still bound as he was, Rido was unable to communicate the true lethality of a Pureblood against one of his kind. There was no killing any Pureblood that they encountered here.

Another person was there, up on the bridge, fighting alongside that girl. The command that had been given to Torvald subsumed his conscious thought again. Thought of doing the task transformed into strategizing, which turned into action in a shockingly short period of time. He clenched both fists and began his attack.

Up on the surface of the lake, a pair of waterspouts emerged abruptly. That they were unnatural occurred instantly to anyone who saw them, which was nearly everyone because the fog had thinned to near uselessness. The last time this occurred, an attack had come immediately from the column of water. A crack of thunder shook the surroundings as a bolt of lightning struck one of the columns.

Torvald sent up a third before he propelled himself up out of the water, rocketing up onto the Sun bridge, along the back where Rido's familiars were most concentrated. At the sight of the closed gate he made a quick circular gesture, sending a ring of pressurized water cutting through the gate. A familiar at the front pushed on it and toppled it to the ground with a great heavy CLANG of metal against stone.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Zero assessed his injuries while they fought. Left forearm, mangled. Tendons okay, but that was pure luck. Injured shoulder reopened; no surprise there, letting Yuuki scratch him open had consequences. He was prepared to deal with that. Minor lacerations all over, high number of punctures. Left leg, mildly serious muscle damage. Shouldn't be putting a lot of weight on it, but there was nothing to do for it.

A familiar finally managed to get a hold of his right wrist, and it acted on that as intensely as it could. The bearing of Bloody Rose was dragged backwards, spinning him so that he couldn't fire without potentially catching Yuuki in the shot. It was not possible to trap him decisively with this sort of strength, even though it would still buy time in which Bloody Rose was not a threat. Zero went with the flow of the drag, making use of the familiar's forward momentum to start his own effort to swing it about. He spun about in a near-complete circle, dragging the wolf back around and slamming it down on top of another familiar with enough force to disperse both of them.

Before it did, though, those teeth dug painfully into his wrist. Zero clamped down forcefully on Bloody Rose, but he could tell immediately that there _was_ tendon damage in that case. He would be burning internal reserves to make it function properly. At the rate that they were going, it would be more efficient to cope with fighting left-handed. A sudden rush of water and a flash of awareness brought his attention around to something that had emerged on Yuuki's side of the battle. His sixth sense blared an urgent warning that prompted him to begin moving, even without line-of-sight to the danger.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Yuuki bludgeoned aside a trio of familiars. The wounds she had sustained so far had already sealed themselves, leaving behind only a feeling of growing hunger. The scent of Zero would've been driving her mad with hunger if the rush of battle and her worry for _everyone_ wasn't oppressive and overwhelming. The 'feeling' of the Pureblood that had sneered at her was beginning to lift. They had to be getting close...

Just when she had that thought, something burst out of the water on the other side of the gate and cut it down. Yuuki recognized it for the person who had attacked her before, her eyes narrowing at Torvald. She summoned up her will to psychokinetically crush him, but an instant before she released it he made his own attack. The stream of water lanced through her chest and dug out her heart, leaving her swaying in the spot with a hole in her body. Once again he had found a first to exploit, leaving Yuuki in shock.

_It can't kill me. It can't kill me. It can't kill me._

No matter how much she told herself though, Yuuki felt like a walking corpse. Blood ceased to flow through her body, and the emptiness of it was like a ghost drum. The sensation of it was there, absent the action, sending her mind spiraling into panic. At the very least she felt like she couldn't breathe, and her hunger overflowed. If Zero wasn't bleeding profusely behind her, she might have devoured her attacker impulsively.

But that smell, too strong and too high in quantity, prompted her to turn and look towards Zero.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The sickle of water that curved through the air and bored out Yuuki's heart wasn't meant for her. The fact that she was in the way was acceptable, but the man behind her was the target. Zero had moved in time to stop it from piercing through his own heart-- but that was all. The stream of water had diminished passing through Yuuki's body, but it was still like a bullet planted through his lung. Evaluate. Survivable? His attention flicked for the barest instant towards his sixth sense, feeling the texture of the battle.

 _No,_ Zero decided, _it would be different if our allies were closer but..._

They would have to get through this mess, and it wasn't happening fast enough. That they would reach them wasn't in question, this battle wasn't going the enemy's way. Strategies for survival came next. Off the side of the bridge? Zero supposed the cold might slow his metabolism down enough that it could delay the need for treatment, but his lung would probably just collapse first.

How long did he have on his feet? Couldn't be more than two minutes.

Zero stopped moderating his pace or keeping energy in reserve. He fixed both hands to Bloody Rose and forced his right hand to function. That would speed his incapacitation up, but stopping that was implausible. Offense was his only defense here. A dozen wolves perished trying to charge him in this state, scattered like dust on the wind, before one of them managed to get a secure hold on him and drag him to the ground.

Blood smeared against the stone where he fell, and the adrenaline of the battle left him. Bloody Rose clattered to the ground next to him. Zero stopped the wolf from tearing into his throat, grabbing it by the snout and pushing it back. But that was all he had the energy left to do. Just as the last of his strength began to leave him, a burst of force blasted it into pieces. His right arm came to rest against his stomach, and the left groped for Bloody Rose.

But no other enemies came. He blinked up at the sky, tilting his head to try to get a look at what was happening.

The dormitory side of the bridge was utterly clear of wolves. A red-haired man he didn't recognize stood with his hand outstretched, a lance of water having turned to ice in the air. His body was frozen from feet to shoulders, and he looked positively deranged.

A shadow fell across him. Yuuki's hand was held outstretched, her eyes gleaming with an uneasy mixture of leveraged authority _and_ the madness of thirst. Her breathing was ragged, but it wasn't because of any injuries. None of them lingered on her body, the only evidence of their passage being ragged tears and holes in her nightgown.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The only reason that Yuuki didn't tear Torvald into a thousand pieces the instant she realized what he had done was because Aido froze him and she _had_ to get rid of all the familiars if she was going to have the slightest hope of doing anything for Zero. She summoned up every ounce of energy that she had, divided it unevenly, and directed the force down the length of the bridge. Invisible force hammered down the dormitory half of the bridge, sending the familiars there flying off the bridge and pushing the statue-like Torvald down the length of the bridge to the edge of the Sun dormitory's lawn.

A glint of ice in the air heralded the sudden freezing of the familiars blasted from the bridge, which tumbled into the lake, frozen solid. Down the campus side of the bridge she directed the bulk of her force, pushing it through the wolf that was trying to kill Zero. The wolves directly in its path simply vanished from existence, as if they had never been in the first place. Those along the sides were blasted backwards into a sudden burst of flames that acted in conjunction with Yuuki's attack.

The remaining familiars growled in anger, regrouped and scattered in coordinated groups. Claudia intercepted some, but the rest slipped past her and charged into Kain and Aido's legs. Inside, Yuuki could hear gunshots and claps of thunder rolling through the main building. But she didn't have the time to worry about any of that.

Yuuki was teary-eyed before she ever approached Zero, but now that she stood over him, saw, and smelled how bad it really was, tears began to fall freely. She sniffed and knelt at his side, and hated herself a little, for how much she wanted to take his blood from the ground.

"Get up," she demanded.

Zero looked up at Yuuki and smiled weakly. He shook his head, almost imperceptibly.

"You **have** to get up," she insisted, pouring the full force of her authority into her words. Yuuki knew that it wouldn't work on a hunter, but she couldn't help herself.

Something stirred in the water beneath the bridge, but Yuuki didn't have the presence of mind to focus on it. Her fingernails elongated into short claws, and she tore Zero's shirt apart to look at his wound. The sight of it made her feel uncomfortable, beyond the simple fact that it was killing him. She wasn't used to the sheer, grimy viscera of the situation. Her breath caught in her throat when the only response he could muster was touching her hand. It only occurred to Yuuki then that he hadn't been breathing since the water had pierced his body. Time, the endurance of which was one of the most steady tools of Purebloods, was screaming by and leaving her behind. It was her enemy. She couldn't keep thinking things through.

The sensation of Yuuki's hair tickling his face and chest offered Zero a moment of awareness that was rapidly beginning to lose meaning to him. The feeling brought to mind the way they had woken up on prior mornings-- not just that, but the way they had been living. Even today, the sight of her sleeping face a moment before he had pushed her out of bed had been cute.

A sudden pain began the process of Zero's senses re-awakening. No... not re-awakening. He knew what it felt like to get incapacitated and to get back up from it, miraculously or otherwise. This wasn't it. Yuuki was clinging to him and her head was inclined, fangs sunk deep into his neck. Even as he was, he had tensed reflexively, his instincts telling him to tear away. Zero didn't have the strength for that, but the act of tensing himself that much made the bite more painful than it had to be. He suppressed, violently, the part of him that tried to raise Bloody Rose and put a stop to this. No matter what his instincts said, Zero didn't want that, especially if there was any chance at all that it would be the last thing he did.

Zero took a great shuddering breath. It felt at first like tearing, and then the deepest muscular ache that he could imagine and more. Surgery and the earliest stage of recovery in fast-forward. This was, he knew, the first stage of transforming into a vampire. Yuuki's jaw worked against his neck for a little while longer, and the sound of blood being drawn into her was curiously audible to him. She must... have been truly starved.

It was not 're-awakening', but 're-configuring'. There were two ways someone could experience a transformation into a vampire: The first and less traumatic was to be bitten and change gradually; the majority of transformations were of that nature. But it was possible to save a human on the brink of death -- sometimes, even very soon after biological death -- by turning them into a vampire. In such an instance, the change was more rapid and _much_ less pleasant in the moment. The first thing that was corrected was injuries. But, because the body had to be repaired rapidly, the transformation would continue at a higher speed than usual. This was a matter of requiring sustenance that the human body could not process; the need for blood to make up for the accelerated transformation was balanced by introducing those systems earlier.

Yuuki drew herself away from Zero. Her mouth was smeared with blood, and streaks still lingered on her face from when she had been crying. Her eyes widened in apparent fear as she looked into his face. It wasn't fear for herself, or for his life. It had nothing to do with what passed on this bridge, and everything to do with where her actions would lead them.

Color and warmth was returning to his body, but the idea of 'getting up' was laughable. Zero doubted that he could do that much, least of all fight. But the weapon that he held was not rejecting him. It crackled and popped with arcs of power, but they weren't directed outward. Something was beginning to build in Bloody Rose.

She picked him up and moved him-- the action made his whole chest cavity ache terribly. Zero heard her apologizing, but didn't have enough sense in him to actually respond in that moment. It felt as if a considerable portion of himself was being drawn into his bonded weapon, draining it away from himself. He felt the hard stone railing of the bridge at his back and exhaled harshly. His throat barely felt less ragged than his chest, and sensations that he could only approximate to growing pains began to throb throughout his body.

Ichiru approached. He was shouting, but Zero couldn't comprehend what it was until he stepped in and drew his bonded weapon, swiping at Yuuki. Freshly fed and well on her guard, Yuuki blocked with Artemis and forced him back.

A bat descended from the interior of the gatehouse, slipping through the abrupt discord of allies fighting to hover in front of Zero.

Rido glared down at the freshly-bitten slave through the bat's eyes, the ominous crackling of Bloody Rose dismissed as a gradual rejection of a compromised hunter. They had not thought to restrain his power of command, and that at least he could wield at near full potency from a distance. Near, but not fully. Even so, a servant of his own bloodline would obey him.

" **Take your own life, wretched beast,** " he ordered.

Zero looked at the bat. He felt the compulsion worm its way into himself. He may not be a vampire _yet_ , but humans at this stage of infection were still thralls to their masters. Or they should have been. With a weak, trembling hand he raised Bloody Rose and began to turn it on himself, but it was only a ruse. When he had it roughly level with his head, the faintest twitch of his wrist turned its barrel to the bat. It was not a gunshot that emerged then. A vine twisted its way out of the barrel and seized the bat. Rido could feel it constrict his body, hateful thorns working its way inside of him. It was not threatening to his true self, but the sensation was still agony. Working its way up that tiny body, inflicting small wounds that would not kill but certainly would not heal. His wings twisted at odd angles, flailing furiously, trying to escape.

"Come back as yourself, so I can kill you," Zero murmured. His voice was barely audible and lacking energy.

The vine twisted fully around the bat and consumed it. Zero lowered the weapon and closed his eyes, but the vine did not cease to move. It grew and grew, soon to be joined by another vine, and another. The first and most robust of these coiled around Ichiru's weapon and jerked it from his grasp, eliciting a shout of surprise.

In that moment of distraction Yuuki seized Ichiru psychokinetically and pitched him over the side of the bridge into the lake. A splash, followed by indignant and angry sputtering carried over the grounds.

Yuuki returned to Zero's side an instant later, Artemis clattering to the ground beside them. She hesitated. The vines were still growing, even though he seemed to be sleeping. Was he okay? She gave him a light shake, which caused him to wince, but he did not speak.

The vines snaked through the grounds and began to find familiars that were hiding, or regrouping. One by one they hunted them, and with each additional familiar they gained a little mass.

But this process seemed to be taking its toll on Zero. He was getting pale again, though he wasn't growing cold. His breathing was steady. Even so, Yuuki couldn't risk it turning into something worse. Bracing herself for the inevitable pain she grabbed Bloody Rose-- it was as if Rima was pouring all of her power into her hand. Her flesh smoked and popped as she forced his fingers out from around the weapon and sent it sliding away along the bridge.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Further down the mountain, Rido felt a sharp pain as something began to kill the familiars he had left there to cloud the route to Cross Academy. His attention turned there, where he received a glimpse of his assailants. With a wave of her hand an elegant but fierce-looking woman sliced down trees and tore his familiars apart, bat and a wolf alike. Those that were not sliced were crushed by the falling trees, and those that began to flee were intercepted by another.

The man was a mirror image of the slave and his twin. He met familiars that were fleeing from the falling trees with a long blade in hand and cut them down mercilessly. Simultaneously, the familiars that Rido had ceased to attend at Cross Academy began not merely to vanish but to be consumed as the bat he spoke through had been. The great mass of himself that he pitched at the Headmaster's manor all disappeared simultaneously, a single thunderous force hammering them out of existence as if a giant had descended from some unfathomably colossal mountain to crush them beneath its foot.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

With blistered and ruined hands that would not heal quickly, Yuuki choked back a sob and lifted Zero from his seat along the edge of the Sun bridge. She took unsteady steps towards the Sun dormitory, which felt like it was an eternity away. Each movement threw these new sensations of true injury in her hands into sharp relief. The only sign she had that Zero wasn't as badly off as he appeared to be was that he wasn't altogether dead weight. He had to be at least conscious enough to work with her, just a little bit, so that the effort wasn't painful and difficult. It wasn't much, but it was something. She was so preoccupied with what had just happened and the task at hand that she didn't even notice Torvald had gone.

Striding confidently across the lawn to meet her was Kaien Cross. A sword was sheathed at his hip, but his whole body was faintly dusted. Yuuki didn't have the attention to spare to put these facts together, but just the reality that he was completely unhurt was enough to inspire an instant's awe.

When he grew closer Kaien's eyes immediately found the wounds on Zero's neck. Cautiously, he began, "Yuuki, did you--"

Yuuki nodded rapidly, blinking away fresh tears.

Kaien sighed. He looked troubled and serious in a way that Yuuki had never seen him before, but it didn't feel as if it was aimed **at** her. Without another word he led her by her shoulders back towards his residence.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Toga strode through the campus's main hall and out onto the Sun dormitory's bridge. His injuries were minor, encompassing a nasty bite along his left arm and a long, shallow scrape that ran the length of his chest where a wolf had gouged into him with unnaturally long claws. As these things went, he came out of it in relatively good shape. The same, he knew, couldn't be said of all of his apprentices. He came to a halt at the middle of the bridge, where carelessly discarded weapons were left lying around, a smear of blood lingering on a stretch of bridge and on a spot next to the edge of the bridge. Toga blew a ring of smoke and lifted Bloody Rose delicately between two fingers. A series of vines were withdrawing back into its mass. He pocketed it and collected Artemis, along with Ichiru's sword.

A glance towards the lake revealed what had happened to Ichiru. Maria was helping him out of the water, retrieving her parasol once they'd gotten ashore. The sunlight didn't sit well with her, he knew. That she put an arm around Ichiru's shoulders and stood close to him was a little more interesting. That boy had been reluctant to let her get so close, before. But he supposed taking a tumble in the water in this weather would make anybody but a freak willing to accept a bit of body heat.

Senri and Rima were headed out, back towards the Moon dormitory. They paused for a moment on spotting him, Rima steering them towards Toga. She lifted the goggles from her face and handed them to Toga. For a few moments they stood there together, and then broke apart without speaking. Toga walked the Sun bridge; Senri and Rima, the Moon bridge.

Claudia departed from Aido and Kain's company, sprinting to catch up with Toga. She called, "Professor Yagari, can I--"

"Don't leave my sight," Toga interrupted.

Claudia fell in next to him, timidly. She was more badly wounded than most of the fighters, not truly being one herself, but it was nothing her own healing couldn't take care of. She glanced nervously between Toga, and the Sun dorm.

Kaito met them at the front door. He lifted his eyebrows.

"Let her see her boyfriend for a few minutes, then kick her out," Toga ordered, gruffly. He continued on inside, evaluating the damage, such as it was. There wasn't much. Kaito's ability to defend a building like this was top notch.

Kaito glanced at Claudia, nodded, and gestured for her to follow. A purple bloom turned unnaturally as if to observe her as she passed by, but slowly closed in the wake of her passage.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The dust was layered thickly on Kaien's doorstep. He swept it aside with his foot, opening the door and waving Yuuki inside. Within a few minutes they had gotten Zero situated in one of the upper floor guest bedrooms.

Yuuki found herself alone while Kaien went to take care of something or another. She hadn't paid attention to what he was saying. She held her hands in her lap, upturned, so that the worst points of contact were not resting against anything. The pain was lingering for an awfully long time... and Bloody Rose seemed to have lept dramatically in strength just before it reacted to her. How long could these injuries last, she wondered?

When Kaien returned it was with a small tub of some sort of cream. He knelt in front of Yuuki's chair and began to apply it gingerly to her burns. Although it stung at first the sensation of it became cool and comfortable. A relieved breath slipped between Yuuki's lips, but it was short-lived. Her eyes came to rest on Zero, who was still asleep. The bite marks at his neck were mending visibly, but they hadn't gone yet. It was still a work in progress, she supposed.

"I know," Kaien broke the silence abruptly, "that I'm not the person that you need to hear this from, Yuuki. But everything will be fine." He smiled gently up at her, that familiar warm expression returning to his face. She thought it suited him better than that serious "killer's face" he adopted for the briefest time. It would've been a lie for Yuuki to say that it wasn't nice to see, but it still felt outweighed by what she had done.

He said, "I'm going to go get you a change of pajamas. It's probably better if you stay here until things get sorted out."

Yuuki nodded, numbly. Once he was gone she stood and looped her arm through the gap in her wooden chair, carrying it awkwardly to the side of the bed. She sat within arm's reach of Zero, and only just stopped herself from leaning forward to rest against the edge of the bed. Her hands wouldn't have tolerated it, and... she wasn't sure how okay he would be with having her that close when he woke up. Instead she leaned back and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. 

More than anything else in the world, what Yuuki wanted in that moment was what she had when she went to sleep. She wanted this stupid, frustrating, reckless jerk of a man lying next to her. To remind him that he wasn't just a weapon, and in turn to be reminded that she was not just a monster in the dark. Frightened and full of trepidation as she was, Yuuki did not expect that such a thing awaited her.

Though she was not ready to admit it to herself, what Yuuki was truly waiting for was to be chastised and punished.


	17. Precious Minutes

* * *

The ominous, cloudy feeling that had lingered around Cross Academy lifted gradually. It wasn't until evening that it disappeared entirely, and only the hunters on campus seemed to have any idea as to why that might be.

Yuuki refused to leave the room that Zero was in. He hadn't stirred much while she was watching over him, but nothing about his condition seemed to terribly alarm Kaien. He had left a pitcher of water, a few glasses, and a packet of blood tablets on a vanity that sat in the corner of the room. Afterwards he returned to fill an adjacent basin, checked Yuuki's hands, and left a roll of gauze for her.

"It'll probably wear off before long, but they might help if you want to rest," Kaien told her.

She had eventually applied a new layer of cream to her hands and bandaged them. Occasionally Zero's expression would change a little, becoming strained in small ways. Partway through the day he had started sweating rather heavily, which Yuuki handled by wetting a washcloth and laying it against his forehead, occasionally wiping the sweat away. Before long, Yuuki succumbed to her weariness and fell asleep in precisely the position she'd been avoiding before.

Leaning forward against the edge of a bed was hardly the most comfortable a person could be, and Yuuki remained in a state of semi-awareness without quite rising to full consciousness. At least one person came in that wasn't Kaien, who she didn't pay very much mind to, though he deposited a couple of somethings in the room with them that made heavy noises against the surface of the vanity.

Kaien and Ichiru appeared briefly at the door, but didn't linger. Ichiru didn't even enter; it was more like he had come to take a look and leave than visit or watch.

It wasn't until after nightfall that anybody else came, and stayed. Ylva Kiryu arrived with an overcoat draped over one arm. She looked like she had been dressed to go out on the town... several nights ago, and never bothered to change. A red tie was draped unfastened around her neck, her shirt was untucked, and the top buttons were undone. She was carrying a chair in one hand, setting it down next to the bed opposite Yuuki.

When Yuuki woke, it was to the sight of Ylva adjusting the washcloth on Zero's forehead and seating herself. She mumbled something to herself, rose to proper awareness, and sat up abruptly. She had met Ylva on many prior occasions, the same as Zero, but she never could quite get a read on the woman. It was never impossible to approach her, but she was utterly unreadable to the average observer.

In that instant, it struck Yuuki that Zero was quite the same way, and wasn't especially frightening under the surface. She calmed herself and tried to think of something to say, staring down at her lap.

Ylva's fingers brushed the puncture marks that had nearly wholly faded away on Zero's neck. He made an uncomfortable noise in response, and she withdrew immediately. As always, it was impossible to discern even a hint of what she was thinking, but she looked across the bed at Yuuki.

"Have you... been in here this whole time?" Ylva asked.

Yuuki nodded.

"Scared?"

She nodded again.

Ylva straightened up and said, "I'm not going to hurt you, Yuuki. From what I can see with my own eyes, and from what Kaien tells me, you've gambled your own existence for the sake of my son."

"You're not angry with what I--"

Ylva shook her head. She asked, "Do you know what they call Kaien?"

"U-um. Something like 'vampire without fangs'?" Yuuki answered, uncertainly.

"I'm... the same way," Ylva said. Seeming to notice something that Yuuki didn't, she took Zero's left arm and rubbed the inside of his wrist lightly with her thumb. "People like Kaien and I, the Association doesn't like us much. We live for a long time, and our doctors question whether we've experienced any cravings for blood. My whole family is the same, not that hunters usually have much use for long lives."

Smiling sadly, Ylva extended Zero's arm and ran her fingers soothingly up and down the inside of his forearm. The troubled expression that had begun to appear on his face eased, just a little, though he still didn't wake. "So what you did, it's not what I would have wanted for him by itself. But minutes are precious to those of us who do not get to live full lives. If you gifted him with even a day that he would not otherwise have had, then..."

It was such a glaringly "Zero" way of failing to completely wrap up a thought that it would've aggravated Yuuki if she weren't worried about other things. She didn't know what to say, and Ylva appeared disinclined to force her to reply. There was something that was bugging her, though. She mimed what Ylva was doing with Zero's arm and asked, "How do you know what will make him feel better?"

"It's our sixth sense," Ylva explained, "I can sense the flow of his qi, so I can perceive where it is changing. The rest is just knowing what that face he's making is about. It's the same sort of face that he and Ichiru used to make when they were still growing. I suppose that changing like this isn't so different from 'growing up' again, or else he is healing injuries that are not obvious."

"Ichiru..." Yuuki mumbled, a wave of guilt crashing over her. He had come at her for biting Zero. Defeating him wasn't difficult, but she didn't want to have a _violently_ hostile relationship with Zero's brother.

"The young lady looking after him talked him down. I doubt he'll ever be happy with what happened, but he probably won't attack you again. Thank you for showing restraint in dealing with him," Ylva said. She eased Zero's arm away and stood, crossing the room to the vanity and picking up something Yuuki couldn't see.

Coming up alongside Yuuki's chair, Ylva offered her-- Artemis? Yuuki groped at her leg reflexively, but she hadn't had time to put on her holster, and she'd been so focused on Zero afterwards that she'd just left it on the bridge. She sighed and accepted the weapon, staring down at it forlornly.

Shiro appeared at the door. Like Ichiru before him he didn't actually enter the room, but that was more a matter of Zero being unconscious than any discomfort with the idea. He said, "Kaien wants to speak with us both."

Ylva nodded and left, waving at Yuuki as she went. She left her coat on the chair she'd brought in.

"Thanks," Shiro said to Yuuki, without further explanation. He shut the door and followed Ylva down the hall without waiting for an answer.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

It was a little while after they left that Zero began to wake up. The pattern of his breathing shifted, and he started to make aggravated noises that were more deliberate than when he was asleep. His eyes opened partway, and he tried to push back and sit up, but he let out a hiss of pain and laid back down immediately. It was only after this failure at mobility that he looked towards Yuuki.

He sighed in what Yuuki thought was relief, but remained silent. Yuuki still didn't even know what she could say. She scooted her chair a bit closer and took his right hand carefully between hers. At first Yuuki thought she was being ignored, but he tried to move his fingers against hers and stopped abruptly, wincing.

"It's okay. Stay still," Yuuki said. She patted the back of Zero's hand and withdrew her own, standing up and changing the washcloth on his forehead. When she laid the replacement across his head he shut his eyes again.

"You don't... have to do this," Zero said, after a while.

"Are you asking me to stop?" Yuuki asked.

"No," he replied.

Yuuki made a sour face. "You don't take your own life seriously enough, Zero."

"It's fine," he said.

"No, it isn't!" Yuuki exclaimed, glaring down at him. She would've given him a good shove if he wasn't so banged up.

"I already told you that I won't give this up," Zero said.

"Jerk," she mumbled feebly, unable to quite bring herself to continue being frustrated after that statement.

Zero sighed, which invited a dreadful throbbing of pain in his chest. He knew that this was a part of him that wasn't at all easy to live with. It wasn't that he wanted to die. But fretting over death as a warrior, or an assassin, that was truly a pointless thing to do. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say?

"I avoided instant death, but it wasn't possible for me to avoid that attack entirely. Hunters live on the barest margins of success, since we're not as powerful as our prey. An injury that required this sort of measure was the best that I could do," he said.

Yuuki leaned forward against the bed again, folding her arms in front of herself and looking at him over the tops of them. Muffled, she asked, "You're sure?"

"Yeah... I thought about going over the side into the lake, but the advantages of the cold were outweighed by the probability of drowning. My best chance was to keep fighting," Zero said.

"You... thought of all of that, with a hole in your lung?" Yuuki wondered.

"The best way to survive is to be rational when your body is panicking," Zero confirmed.

Yuuki didn't know why she was still pushing the matter. If she couldn't get out of the way of that water, it was a miracle that he had managed even that much. This whole thing... this whole _idea_ , the dream of Cross Academy, had brought this about.

"You called it... a declaration of war, Zero," Yuuki said, lifting her head a little. "Cross Academy, and what Uncle Cross is trying to do. That's what you said. A 'declaration of war'. I knew you weren't wrong, even then, but I didn't think it would be this awful. I thought we could make it work. And because of that..."

Zero lifted his hand. His tendons still felt raw and painful, making even this much movement troublesome. Even so, he was determined, and his hand came to rest on Yuuki's head. He said, "Whether it was here or elsewhere, I was always going to be a soldier. I'm not good at feelings, Yuuki. But even though I said such a thing to you then, I... would rather spend myself on the feelings behind Cross Academy than what most hunters die for."

"Is that really the way it has to be?" Yuuki asked, shutting her eyes in response to his touch.

"For now," Zero said. "But isn't that why you and Kaien are leading us away from 'now'?"

Mollified for the moment, or perhaps simply too tired to spin in circles around her anxieties and fears any more, Yuuki made an affirmative noise.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The window of opportunity was dangerously narrow. Something was killing off Rido's familiars, and Elizabeth's presence wouldn't go unnoticed for terribly long. She had pulled her brother into the waters of the lake and concealed him among the ice of the dam until enough eyes were turned that she was able to breach it without drawing attention. Much to her brother's annoyance, she had left him mostly frozen for the process.

It wasn't good for him, but Elizabeth knew that they were both resilient enough to survive that. As long as he didn't have any other outstanding injuries, it would be fine. She had only cut him free once they were back in the boat, shearing pieces of ice off in small pieces along the way. He was shivering violently, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"We're going to have to stop somewhere and dry you out, but I need to get more done first," Elizabeth said, turning away.

Torvald grabbed her by the wrist, weakly, and shook his head.

"If we return without having accomplished anything..." Eliza cautioned him, pulling free of his grip. Torvald reluctantly allowed her to go without further resistance. He was unable to resist the impulse of the command in him. Perhaps she would complete the mission that he failed to carry out.

A few minutes later Elizabeth returned to the campus, and headed upstream along a narrower river that divided the Moon dorm from the Sun dorm. She pulled herself out along the shore and crawled through the mud to the lake, plunging herself beneath it and propelling herself to the far shore. The muck and grime of her journey was left behind, the water she commanded sweeping over the whole of her body and scouring it off. She kept her distance from the Headmaster's house, circling through the brush towards the Sun dormitory itself.

But she didn't make it there.

Lars was a perfectly plain-looking man, nothing at all impressive about him. If not for the smell of blood scattered throughout the grounds Elizabeth might have been able to catch on to his presence. As it was, he took advantage of both the bloodied field and Rido's presence to catch her off-guard. By the time Eliza realized he was there, the muzzle of a gun was pressed to her ribs.

"I'm afraid that won't do. Get on your knees and raise your hands. Slowly," he said. Lars wasn't unused to needing to put somebody down, but he preferred not to, and he suspected bringing this woman back to Kaname would let them discover a lot more than if he just dusted her.

Eliza turned her head very slightly, but began to obey. She needed a certain minimum of physical mobility to exercise her powers; this was a great deal of why her brother hadn't been able to free himself. But she didn't need much. Once she was on her knees she began to raise her hands-- and flicked her index finger.

Moisture in the air coalesced into a sickle of pressurized water that cut through Lars's tendons and left his trigger finger useless. It was better if this encounter wasn't _heard_ , but she could afford some shed blood. Some, but not a lot. Instead of trying to switch hands, Lars leveraged what hand function he still had to club Elizabeth viciously in the head with the gun, sending her tumbling to the ground with blurred vision and a bloody mark where it struck her.

Elizabeth retaliated by hurling a fistfull of mud into Lars's face, prompting a reflexive protective reaction and a split second of backing off. That was enough time for Eliza to kick him in the stomach and stagger him further, and enough time again for her to smell something unusual about him. She got to her feet and seized his fully functioning arm, twisting it around behind him and bringing her opposite arm around his neck.

"Stop," she whispered.

Lars complied, sufficiently disadvantaged that he preferred ceasing to struggle in anticipation of getting his assailant to relax enough to give him the chance to at least escape. She jerked the gun out of his hand and tossed it into the brush. That hand having been determined to be 'non-dangerous', he lowered it to his side and squeezed his fist as tight as he could.

The idea wasn't to make it work again. He was just trying to apply enough stress to the hole in his arm to make it bleed more intensely and draw attention.

The arm that was curled around Lars's neck dipped inside his jacket. Eliza seized the vials that were hidden there, and released his arm rapidly only to extend rapidly elongated claws into his spine.

It wasn't a fatal injury, but in the moment Lars could no longer control his legs. He was held upright only by the claws and Elizabeth's sheer strength.

"Because you came, my life was saved. That's why you get to walk away from this-- eventually," Eliza whispered, retracting her claws and shoving Lars into the mud beneath her. He heard a distant splash a few seconds later, tried to turn himself over, and fell back into the mud.

It was several minutes before he heard footsteps coming from the direction of the lake.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

"... Juri is on her way here, and Haruka decided to go to the Senate in advance," Kaien said. He sat behind his desk, the blade _Achaea_ laid across his desk in its sheath. While they talked he had resumed binding the weapon, winding the ritual cloth he used for this purpose around the sheath towards the hilt. So far, he was only about halfway finished with the process. It had to be conducted slowly and carefully, or else it wouldn't accomplish what it was intended to.

He turned the weapon over again, completing another loop. "I am going to need you two to run interference with the Association. I don't want to get into a fight with President Arata if I don't have to. Eventually it will probably come to that, but it's too early. The bonds that I wanted to establish with Cross Academy are still fragile, and if the Hunter Association tests it at this stage..."

Ylva stood at the window, looking out across the grounds. "Then... the few students who _have_ formed attachments will be able to let go of them."

"The vampire that was attacking you has nothing to do with the school. We couldn't identify that person, so we won't be asked to arrest you for endangering human students with personal matters. He won't want to make that sort of move unless it's more conclusive," Shiro said. He sat reclined in one of the two chairs across from Kaien, his own sword laid across his lap.

"Yes. But Yagari or Takamiya will report what Yuuki did to Zero. The Association will make an issue out of it," Ylva said.

"I don't think Masami would dare put her on the official list, but..." Kaien looked back at Ylva.

Ylva nodded, smiling bitterly. "But if 'something happened', they wouldn't penalize the person who brought it about. Especially if they managed to reclaim Artemis for the radicals."

"I'll keep an eye on it," Shiro said.

"In summary, then, we have most of the above-board problems handled," Kaien completed another loop and then stopped altogether, easing Achaea down to the surface of his desk and rising. "But we have several problems in the shadows, and we can expect some level of procedural and informal interference surrounding Yuuki and Zero. On top of that, Zero will probably start receiving orders to analyze his situation."

Ylva laid her fingers against the cool glass of the window, her expression almost longing. "It's okay. The things that Shiro and I were doing at this age..."

Kaien nodded at Ylva, his expression forlorn. "I know. Me, too. But it's hard to regret the path that brought me here. In the absence of that long road, I..."

He traced a hand along Achaea's hilt, and smiled. "Even so, I'm sorry that my ambition did not come soon enough for you, Ylva, Shiro."

Ylva was at his side abruptly, laying her hand over Kaien's. Her lips tugged into a tiny smile. "It did. Just like you, the path that brought us here was complicated, and sometimes painful. In order to reach 'this' point there must have been a beginning, someone to say that life could be better even if nobody else believed it. When you first told me about this place, Kaien, I wondered if it was even possible. The way that they treat us... the dream that you spoke from your heart seemed like a phantom. A picture painted from the pages of a book."

"But Kaien," she patted his hand and circled the desk to stand at Shiro's back, "just down this very hallway my son is being fussed over by a silly vampire girl. Across the lake I can feel his brother and several other members of your Night class huddled together. There's a little fear in the air, but... the tension that I expected isn't there."

Kaien retrieved his handkerchief from his pocket and removed his glasses, dabbing at his eyes. The scrap of cloth was usually a prop to him, something he could use to exaggerate his expressions to mask what was behind them; occasionally, simply to express himself loudly to make up for the many years he spent extinguishing his feelings altogether.

Shiro rose, securing his sword at his belt. He looked uncomfortable, his eyes fixed firmly on a point to the right of Kaien. It was only after they had lingered in silence for a few moments too long that he said, "Such pretty words are beyond me. If you need a soldier to defend your dream, then I will be here, teacher."

Completely lost for words, Kaien stepped forward and embraced them both. Under many similar circumstances both Ylva and Shiro knew that it was safest to get out of arm's reach, but tonight neither moved.

"Thank you," Kaien breathed, too touched to keep a tremor out of his voice. "Thank you."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Out along the river, a single bat observed the boat in silence. It wasn't hard for Kaname to locate the escape vehicle, since there were so few routes in and out of Cross Academy to begin with, and this was easily the most vulnerable. More difficult was not being noticed by the other pureblood's familiars, but something had drawn them away midway through his attempt, effectively clearing the field on his behalf.

The red-haired man had sat alone, shivering, for some time before his partner returned. The woman rose out of a waterspout like some mythical sea creature, landing back on the deck and siphoning the water off of both herself and the deck itself. In her hand she held... ah, hell.

Kaname drew his consciousness back into his primary body. The smell of Laurentius's blood was distant but distinct, not high enough in quantity to be fatal in itself, but it must not have felt particularly good. He padded out of the Moon dormitory and along the edge of the lake, finally coming to a halt where Laurentius lay in the mud nearer the Sun dorm.

With a gesture he levitated Lars into the air, turning him onto his back and supporting him as if he was on a bed, or perhaps more accurately a slab. He smelled movement within the Sun dorm, and picked up his pace to avoid an obnoxious conversation.

"I am told that one's first spinal injury is a specially unpleasant experience," Kaname said, conversationally.

"You _can't_ seriously imagine that I want to talk about that," Lars spat back, angrily.

"Our living experiences are very different. I wasn't sure," Kaname replied.

Lars grunted. "One of them was prowling around the Sun dorm. She noticed I was carrying your blood and took it. Said it saved her life, so she'd spare mine."

"Is that so."

"If you're going to do this mysterious wizard shit, I'm not talking until I'm mended."

"Well," Kaname said, "that tracks with their last objectives, except for one detail. What do you suppose that is?"

"She was at the Sun dorm," Lars said, automatically.

"The attack failed, so she was attempting to carry out a secondary objective, and got more than she expected or set out for," Kaname confirmed.

"Fuck me," Lars growled, shutting his eyes.

"It's fine. Confirmed information is still useful. That means 'collecting Kuran blood' is a major secondary goal at the very least. It's something that I can work with immediately, so relax and recover," Kaname said.

"I hate this."

"As do I. Fortunately for you, this is where we part ways for a while," Kaname replied.

Lars opened his eyes to find Kaname smiling at him, and frowned. "What?"

"I told you before. I'm leaving you with the young master Ichijo," Kaname explained.

Lars stared at Kaname. Pureblood or not... the reality was, this person was a child. So was Takuma, but that was a reality he was already aware of. Measuring the two, he'd have to say he preferred Takuma. That kid had his head on straight in a way that Lars himself never had, in spite of an awful snake of a grandfather. This one, though... he didn't know. For all his power, there was something helpless about him.

"You sure?" he asked.

Kaname's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you reluctant to leave my side, Mr. Spy?"

"Maybe. Yeah, a bit," Lars admitted.

"Well... I'm expected to be here across winter break, so you have a few weeks to make a decision. I assure you, though, that Takuma is the more comfortable choice," Kaname said.

Lars thought about his own family, and sighed. "We'll see. What a fucked up situation this is..."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Ylva returned to Zero's room a few hours later. She found Yuuki and Zero asleep, Zero's hand resting atop Yuuki's head. His breathing changed slightly when his mother entered the room, and Ylva understood that she had roused him to semi-wakefulness immediately. Quietly, she moved to where she left Bloody Rose, and relocated it to the bedside table on Zero's left. His right hand wouldn't be any good for a while, she suspected.

Collecting her coat, Ylva paused at Zero's bedside and lifted the washcloth from his head, brushing his hair away from his eyes before replacing it. The corner of his lips twitched.

"Go back to sleep," she whispered.

Zero nodded, just enough that Ylva could feel it. She turned off the lamp and left, closing the door quietly behind her.

As he sank back into unconsciousness, Zero heard her footsteps going back up the hall. A door opened, and closed.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

The next time Zero woke, it was to a strange feeling around his lips. At first he thought that he might have fangs coming in, but no... dental pain was much worse than that. What was...?

Yuuki hovered over him, ever-so-gently attempting to lift his upper lip with her index finger and get a look at his teeth.

"Yuuki," he said.

She jerked her hand back and leaned away from him. "S-sorry, sorry, it's just..."

"I don't mind you touching me, but if 'those' start coming in, I'll ask for a bag of ice," Zero said.

"I was just wondering if it was time to feed you," Yuuki said, dejectedly.

Zero opened his eyes and shot her a flat, disbelieving look. "Are you disappointed I'm not going to bite you right now?"

Yuuki smiled sheepishly. "If I tell you, do you promise not to laugh?"

He didn't think he had a lot of laughter in him right now to begin with, but Zero made an affirmative noise anyway.

"Between vampires, biting each other is a very romantic thing. I didn't want something like this to happen, but now that it has," Yuuki twisted at the edge of his blankets nervously, her face positively aglow with color. "Now that it has, the idea that 'Zero will gently press his fangs to my neck' makes me happy."

"I see," Zero said, allowing his eyelids to drift shut again. What it would be like to be bitten by Yuuki had occurred to him previously, but it wasn't something he lingered on. When it happened on the bridge, it wasn't particularly nice, but those were different circumstances. In the privacy of their own spaces, with Yuuki's scent and warmth drowning out the cold and easing the sting with soft touches and tiny kisses, he could certainly see the appeal.

"Zero!" Yuuki's protest was a stage whisper of an exclamation, loud enough to be sharply audible to him without carrying far. She jabbed him in the shoulder. "It's really cruel to let me say something like that, and just say something like 'I see'."

"It's not that," he mumbled, sleepily.

"Then what is it?" she demanded, pouting.

"Now that I've thought about it," Zero admitted, "I'm disappointed, too."

Yuuki stood up and circled the bed, standing at Zero's left side. When he opened his eyes and glanced at her she looked like she was concentrating very hard on something, and lifted his left arm gingerly. Without explanation she poked and prodded, until she appeared to be satisfied with the result: His left arm was sore, but it wasn't a weak spot the way the right seemed to be, so this ought to be safe.

"Yuuki, what--"

She slid onto the bed carefully, remaining above the sheets and applying a little bit of selective psychokinesis to stop herself from jostling Zero as much as she really ought to. Taking hold of his hand and resisting the impulse to scoot closer, Yuuki laid her head down on the pillows and looked sidelong at him.

"What do you want to do over winter break?" she asked.

"Sleep," he said.

"Z-zero..." Yuuki stifled a laugh. "You really can't be romantic without doing it by accident, can you?"

"I suppose we could take a day trip into town," Zero offered, feebly.

"Just us? And no hunting?" she asked, half-teasingly.

"Yeah."

Exceedingly gently, Yuuki squeezed his hand. "Thanks for trying so hard while you're in pain, Zero."

Zero made a noise of acknowledgment, and said, "You haven't touched those tablets somebody left. Don't starve yourself waiting for me to recover."

"A-actually... I took too much from you when I bit you, so I'm okay," Yuuki said, apologetically. Another noise of acknowledgement followed, distant and dreamy.

Yuuki slid with meticulous care beneath the blankets, drawing her arms around herself and trying to occupy the smallest amount of space she could. Zero's left hand came to rest unexpectedly atop her head, stroking her hair. She leaned greedily into his touch, turning her head so his fingers grazed her cheek in passing.

Exhausted from the interrupted half-sleep that they had each managed across the past day and a half, and content in each other's company, the pair drifted off to sleep.


	18. Lexicon and Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a Lexicon and Notes Chapter for Snowy Mountains and Ocean Roses. The purpose of this Lexicon is to provide a running document on introduced and altered terminology, cast members, and setting information. The bottom of this chapter will also contain the running notes that were posted to the chapters themselves when the work was a WIP, but which I feel interrupt the flow of the work in a complete state.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **CAUTION: May contain spoilers.**  
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> The Lexicon of Snowy Mountains and Ocean Roses is intended for consumption by up-to-date readers.
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> **CAUTION: May contain spoilers.**  
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**Achaea** : The bonded weapon of Kaien Cross. A sword that resembles an oversized modern military knife. Must be ritually bound for reasons presently unknown.

 **Alecto** : The bonded weapon of Shiro Kiryu. A chinese longsword.

 **Bindings:** A type of blood magic that restricts the behavior or abilities of a subject or category of subjects. In addition to the bindings that fetter Rido, the protective measures around the Hunter's Association HQ would be considered a form of binding that harms if an unauthorized category (vampire) steps in without appropriate credentials (tattoo or alternatives).

 **Binding, of Mortality:** A binding that prevents Rido Kuran from leaving the grounds of the old Kuran estate without diminishing his regenerative abilities. Were he to do so, he could be killed even with an ordinary weapon.

 **Binding, of Plurality:** A binding that prevents Rido Kuran from generating familiars or otherwise existing in multiple places at once.

 **Bonded weapon** : A formal term for anti-vampire weapons.

 **Bonded weapon stages** : A concept indicating the development of a hunter’s mastery and relationship with their weapon. Stages begin at Noll and continue from Ett to Fyra. Stage Ett represents the rough power of Bloody Rose at the beginning of Hino Matsuri’s Vampire Knight, while Fyra represents such a cultivation of power that a hunter wielding it reliably outmatches a typical pureblood. A bonded weapon that rises to Stage Ett usually does not fall beneath it, but inherited bonded weapons rarely retain power exceeding Stage Ett for a new wielder.

 **Class, Dawn** : A subdivision of the Day Class that is officially permitted to intersect with the Night class. Mostly a special category reserved for Prefects, but might also be used for edgecases. 

**Class, Dusk** : A subdivision of the Night Class that is officially permitted to intersect with the Day class. Mostly a special category reserved for Prefects, but might also be used for edgecases. 

**Geas** : A way of referring to a particularly powerful command issued by the authority of a Pureblood vampire.

 **Hemothaumaturgy** : A formal term for the magic performed by the Hunter’s Association and vampires. More informally, it would simply be called blood magic. It deals in phenomena induced using the power vested within blood. The origin of hemothaumaturgy is rooted in the nameless Pureblood at the heart of the Forge. As a result, the Hunter’s Association is more adept at hemothaumaturgy than vampires are.

 **Physio-spiritual** : A formal term for the overall processes of a hunter or vampiric body, which incorporate anomalous energies which are known but not easily studied.

 **Qi** : One of several terms for “vital force”, the power that defines the superior longevity and supernatural abilities of vampires and hunters. Chi, Ki, and simply Life Energy are often used interchangeably with this term, but Qi is the official term for formal situations. The "power" that a vampire derives from blood is Qi.

 **Thrall** : A term for, variably, a human who has yet to fully transform into a Level D vampire, a human under a mental compulsion by a vampire, or otherwise simply a human who is serving a vampire. Sometimes called a Knock instead.

 **Tisiphone:** : The bonded weapon of Ylva Kiryu. A system of monofilament wires.

 **Weeping Larkspur** : The bonded weapon of Kaito Takamiya, occupying **Stage Tva**. In terms of design, it's a Bergmann-Bayard Model 1910. This wasn't defined in canon, and I decided it was appropriate for most of Toga's apprentices to favor guns-- Ichiru is the odd man out. It has a plant theme because I wanted it to spiritually relate to Bloody Rose. Apart from being able to put out corrosive clouds of poison, it has the ability to "plant" remotely-controlled instances of itself that function as turrets, which was used during Chapter 16 of Snowy Mountains and Ocean Roses to establish a secure perimeter around the Sun dorm.

* * *

**Hunter’s Association Rank Structure**

President – Masami Arata

Vice President – Vacant

First Officer – Kaien Cross

Second Officer – Toga Yagari

Departmental Heads (Head of Assignment, Head of Armory, etc.)

Departmental Officers (Assignment Officers, Armory Officers, etc.)

Senior Associate

Associate

Junior Associate

The Hunter’s Association has a master-apprentice system for Junior Associates. In this case, the Junior Associate always falls dominantly under the authority of their teacher until they become a full-fledged Associate. It also follows that the teacher takes responsibility for their student’s actions; Toga is responsible for actions Zero takes under his authority.

* * *

**Asai, Eiji** : A deceased Senior Associate of the Hunter’s Association. Like Ichiru Kiryu, he was sickly and weak compared to other hunters.

 **Arata, Masami** : The President of the Hunter’s Association. This character is unnamed in Hino Matsuri’s _Vampire Knight_ , which is inconvenient, so I gave him a name.

 **Claudia** : A vampire commoner, and member of the Night class at Cross Academy.

 **Frey** : A Junior Medical Officer within the Hunter’s Association. Trusted by Second Officer Yagari.

 **Kichirou** : A student of the Day class at Cross Academy. Though it's against the rules, he's involved with Claudia.

 **Kiryu, Shiro** : Zero and Ichiru’s father. His bonded weapon is a jian (chinese style of sword) called Alecto.

 **Kiryu, Ylva** : Zero and Ichiru’s mother. Her bonded weapon is a system of monofilament wires called Tisiphone.

 **Kuran, Kaname** : The younger of the Kuran siblings. Though he models himself visually after Kaien Cross, his motivations and intentions are unclear. Introduced in Chapter 1. It was important to my narrative for Yuuki’s brother to be younger and in a position of lesser explicit authority, but I’m aware that canonically, the son of Haruka and Juri was their firstborn. As for the Kuran Ancestor called Kaname, I don’t have immediate plans for him. So much of the original story hinges on his awakening, which is why it didn’t happen here.

 **Kuran, Rido** : The eldest son of the Kuran family. By birthright Rido would be considered the King of Vampires, but the gentler lineage of Haruka and Juri Kuran took power shortly after Rido fatally attacked their parents. The circumstances of the previous King and Queen’s deaths remain a mysterious and private affair; why Rido was imprisoned instead of executed is generally attributed to extreme misgivings about the killing of Purebloods, even a monster like Rido.

 **Kuran, Yuto** : The last Pureblood King, as well as Haruka, Juri, and Rido's father. It was by his decree that the Council of Elders was founded. Deceased.

 **Lars** : Full name is allegedly Laurentius Nilsen. A human spy acting on the orders of the Council of Elders (Vampire Council). Bitten by Kaname when he was caught breaking into one of the Aido family's laboratories, and currently a Level D vampire.

 **Norgaard, Elizabeth** : One of Rido Kuran’s attendants. A member of vampire aristocracy. Her power is the manipulation of water in liquid and gaseous states.

 **Norgaard, Torvald** : One of Rido Kuran’s attendants. A member of vampire aristocracy, and Elizabeth’s brother. His power is the manipulation of water in liquid and gaseous states.

 **Tomio** : Shizuka Hio's lover.

* * *

****

**Chapter Notes**

Spoilers ahead!

**Chapter 1:** Updated on 11/15/2020 with grammatical corrections in response to feedback from BrightBlood (Zarathustare). Thank you, BrightBlood!

 **Chapter 2:** There's a lot of description of environment in this chapter. I really wanted to try to capture the way the characters have ended up living with their environments, which says a lot about what a person is like. I didn't get around to all of them this chapter. I considered limiting Rido's presence in this chapter to the topmost section, but decided it fit more what I was going for his approaching future to be contrasted with Ichiru, Yuuki, and Zero's. I'll probably limit Rido's presence a bit more going forward.

 **Chapter 3:**

On the Chapter Title: ... Yeah, this was a bit of a red herring. It sounded ominous, but it turned out to be benign. I ended up so pleased with it by the time I finished, that I couldn't possibly change it to be less... (dons sunglasses) loaded!

On Ichiru: Ichiru does have the superhuman physique of a hunter. The thing that makes him badly suited to actually hunting, and reason that he contextualizes his combat aptitude in this way, is because his stamina is very bad. Imagine a car that can go from 0 to 60 instantly, but guzzles gas like an SUV and has the tank capacity of a scooter. From a practicality standpoint, Ichiru would make for a better assassin than a fighter. You get a good look at the two faces of Ichiru here; he's a lot nicer than Zero on contact, but much more brutal when he's not on your side.

On Yuuki: Yuuki is a lot more "powerful" from the start, but she suffers some of the things that Hino Matsuri's Zero did. I wouldn't say she's self-loathing, but she definitely resents how her power makes people deal with her. I can't say too much about her because some of the things she's trying to do haven't had the sheet pulled back off of them. Most of what you've seen deals with her feelings of isolation. That's not a full picture of anyone, is it? I think she's more elegant than Hino Matsuri's Yuuki at the beginning of her story, but they'd be about the same compared later on.

On Zero: The Zero Kiryu of this series is a lot more relaxed, huh? Well, that was a part of the idea. He's not hateful of vampires, and because he still has the same fundamentally kind nature, he's just more agreeable. I would still call him "difficult", but it's more a matter of being blunt and needing prying to get to the heart of what he's about. I'm tempted to lay out something about him that illuminates a part of why he's so comfortable, but it makes sense for him to explain it eventually, so I may just keep it to myself.

On Yuuki and Zero: I felt like I was already taking a bit too long to push these two together a little. At the same time, I wonder if this was too fast? A fundamental basis of the shojo genre is a strong focus on feelings though, so I think that I would be failing a little if I didn't have my protagonists coming together pretty soon.

 **Chapter 4:** There's less changing perspectives in this one. I wanted to focus on the introduction of many familiar faces, and stay zoomed in on my deuteragonists a little longer.

I didn't use her very much this chapter, but Maria Kurenai is an interesting character, isn't she? She has a lot in common with my Ichiru, and at risk of spoiling things a little, I look forward to having them interacting in the future.

 **Chapter 5:** I've been planning for Ichiru and Maria to meet as kindred spirits from the start. Shizuka might appear eventually, but the entire plot that surrounded her isn't a relevant sequence of events, so she's not a boogeyman like she was in canon.

Regarding Zero's remarks: Vampires and humans do have consensual relationships, and while hunters are always suspicious of feeling vampires, it would be a waste of their time if they were constantly bursting into people's homes to interrupt their sex lives. I'm sure this was a problem for a while, until they got tired of dealing with it and simply ceded that the most likely scenario (consensual fun) was much more prevalent than the one they were looking out for.

By the way, you might think, 'Zero is being kind of a bully to the class presidents here.' That's sort of true, but it's probably worth mentioning that hunters considering themselves human isn't **quite** correct. They have a lot of vampire psychology, and one of the things they got was an aggressive streak. Zero is incredibly gentle and passive for a hunter, but he's not totally lacking in their failings of demeanor.

On the subject of vampire taste: Is 'hot fudge' a strange thing to imagine blood tasting like? Vampires taste things they like in people they favor, finding ideal lovers the tastiest of all. But this probably changes over time, like everything else. Somebody with a sweet tooth might one day decide spicy foods are the best, and find that their lover tastes like delicious curry.

Yuuki's been a good girl so far, but she's very thirsty. When do you suppose she'll get a drink? It may go without saying, but her relationship with Kaname in Snowy Mountains and Ocean Roses isn't particularly romantic. I enjoyed writing her sit-down with Claudia; I feel like Yuuki is excellent at de-escalation without necessarily being too soft on somebody. It helps that she understands how Claudia feels.

Oh, and if you were wondering why Zero didn't prioritize Ichiru falling behind: Even though he fusses, he knows Ichiru isn't inept, and he's perceptive enough to know that Ichiru just overexerted himself. Ichiru and Zero are probably underestimating Maria, but they also don't consider her particularly threatening. Also, if anybody was worried: Kichirou and Claudia really did just get carried away here. There's nothing sketchy going on between them.

 **Chapter 6:** Another chapter that's heavy on Yuuki and Zero. I suppose that's natural, but even so, I hope it never gets tiring. If you're wondering, Yuuki doesn't have Artemis yet, but it's sort of because she doesn't need it so much. It's an iconic part of her though, so she'll probably end up getting it anyway down the road.

Kaname returns! What is he up to? I decided that Yuuki's brother would have a very unique way of scenting and tasting people. While 'smelling water' may feel strange, I would urge you to imagine how you feel when you drink water after working up a heavy sweat and getting exhausted. His experience feeding on people is a lot like that.

 **Chapter 7:**

On Kaito: I feel like he had such little time in the original source material, that it's hard to get a grasp on him? But what was there, I enjoyed quite a lot. If you're thinking, 'Wow, Kaito is really trusting of a Pureblood in sketchy condition.'. Well, sort of. He'd arrived at the conclusion that Yuuki is more-or-less a good girl here, but truthfully, he was watching her presence closely when she was working up to biting Zero. The back end of this chapter was all about Yuuki and Zero though, so I felt like it would detract from things to cut to the next room over just to note, 'Ahh, the scary pragmatist is being a scary pragmatist'. Rest assured that he didn't abandon his friend.

On Yuuki and Zero: Well, here we are again, a chapter that is mostly about these two. This Yuuki inherited some of the problems that Hino Matsuri's Zero had, even though she isn't self-loathing. Still, she doesn't want to be scary or hurt people, so there are some problems there. In this situation, Zero is the accepting one. I mentioned a few chapters back that Zero would eventually explain his little oddities. He hasn't told the whole story yet, because he ran out of spoons, but I think it's not hard for you to guess at this point.

By the way, if you're wondering: Kaito wanted to use Yuuki's blood as bait, since purebloods are very tasty. This would've caused problems though, since there are vampires living in the city who aren't on any "list", and it would stir them up. There's no reason for this to get explained in detail later, so I figured I'd just tell you.

I might use the idea of somebody who 'doesn't know anything about the world of vampires' turning into a vampire and having to deal with it alone later. It poses an interesting dilemma.

 **Chapter 8:** Did Zero 'plan' any such thing like Kaien said? No, even though his chemistry with Yuuki is pretty strong and he quite likes her, he's not conniving enough to do that. Actually, he stayed on the couch intending for her to use the bed. As taxing as it is for him to express a lot of his feelings, he's also too honest a person for that. Kaien was just teasing him.

Yuuki gets Artemis at last, although I didn't linger on it for long. Well, you might be wondering, 'What's this about restraining her power?'. When a vampire uses their abilities, it does tax them and make them hungry (or, I suppose, thirsty), like doing a lot of running would make you, the reader, thirsty. The Kuran are unusual for being able to coax bonded weapons into working for them, and using them doesn't draw on their internal reserves.

It seems an awful lot like Ichiru was threatening Kaito there, didn't it? Well, that's because he was. I've mentioned it before, but hunters have a lot of the same social dynamics as vampires, which is why they get snarly like this. If you're wondering if Ichiru could actually beat Kaito-- yes, although a part of it is that they wouldn't be fighting to kill to start with. Kaito doesn't fight fair if he can help it, but he's not willing to do to Ichiru what he'd do to a vampire. Since Ichiru must end a fight quickly, he's pretty compatible with overwhelming Kaito in the opening salvo.

I suppose in this regard, Kaito is among the most 'hunter-like' hunters. You know how Geralt in the Witcher is at his best when he's prepared a bunch of oils and potions tailored to a specific problem? Kaito is a lot like that.

Kaname's scene here is a sharp contrast with Yuuki's, isn't it? Well, that's not entirely unintentional. Yuuki and Zero have a lot of trust between them, and what's going on between them even when externally iffy is consensual. Even if he's being relatively gentle about it, Kaname is hijacking somebody who definitely would prefer not to be involved.

 **Chapter 9:** This is a longer chapter than usual, isn't it? Well, I had a lot of things I wanted to put in here. Some of it was originally going to be a part of the following chapter, but as this is rooted in a shojo work, I thought that this chapter needed some more "feelings" to go around, so the segment with Yuuki and Zero at the end capped things off. If you're thinking, 'Is the Binding really that easy to undo?', the answer is 'sort of'. Yuto Kuran never really imagined a scenario where somebody had the guts to attack the Kuran like this, or that anybody would be crazy enough to help Rido. That was a bit short-sighted of him, but he wasn't a perfect King. Yuuki ended up being the target because she was the softest target. Kaname, even if he isn't the "ancestor" Kaname, is known to be a crafty sort. Speaking of which, it's three months later. What do you suppose Lars will have to say to him?

On the chance that you're wondering who Torvald thought was most dangerous to him (apart from Yuuki), it was Hanabusa. Since Torvald and his sister manipulate water in its non-solid state, having somebody around who could bog things down with ice was a serious danger. Especially when their escape route was water-based. The Norgaard siblings have kind of a complicated relationship with Rido, don't they?

Yuuki ended up acting as a sort of "RTS Commander" here, so there wasn't any Artemis action. Sorry! I promise that Artemis wasn't as much of an afterthought as it appeared to be, but I wanted to emphasize Yuuki as a leader here. Being able to spread out her presence on the battlefield was a big part of how I saw her doing her thing in a situation like this. It's no coincidence that she roped Maria in in particular, either.

In all, this chapter is my midseason climax-- a moment where the most serious threats to come first rear their head, and win a major victory. Right now the plan is for the next chapter to be a bit of a come-down chapter, but I don't know that I won't change my mind.

 **Chapter 10:** This is a little shorter than usual! But, the last one was much longer than usual, so I think it evens out. I originally intended this chapter to be balanced with some other character(s), but ultimately decided that I was much happier with it being an unbroken piece about Yuuki and Zero.

Yuuki is pretty bold, isn't she? Well, she never ceased being a vampire in this setting, so 'If you don't eat what you desire you'll go mad' is definitely a thing that's going on with her. Of course, she's still Yuuki, so she isn't completely confident. On the whole though, I'm quite pleased with where she's gone.

Zero wasn't as active as Yuuki here. A part of that is appealing to the part of Yuuki that is hungry; instead of treating her like a predator ready to spring, he lets her control the situation and look forward to getting what she wants so she doesn't have to deal with any quick impulses to just go for it as fast as possible and do something dangerous. Anyway, his story isn't as tragic as Hino Matsuri's Zero, but there's still a lot to resent about feeling like people look at you as if you're a very pretty loaded gun.

I hope you enjoyed the awkwardness of this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sex is often wildly idealized in fiction, and I wanted this fumbling first attempt -- fated to be aborted -- to be fumbling and cute and also uncomfortable, but not in a bad way. It's hard to make yourself vulnerable like that!

This is a small detail, but I do want to make a note about it: Yuuki and Zero aren't really presenting their honest nightclothes game here. Yuuki likes cute clothes, and pajamas aren't an exception. Of course, she doesn't have a problem with this arrangement, I just wanted to talk about it a bit. Zero's nightclothes are usually whatever he couldn't be bothered to take off before passing out. He doesn't have specific pajamas, but he'd wear them if somebody gave him some.

 **Chapter 11:** If you're at all wondering why Sayori isn't subject to the memory modification, she's still in a position of "being a human with a history of knowledge of vampires and their society", and her father is still part and parcel to Kaien's attempt to bring the two people together. So she gets a little bit of special treatment herself. The description of Rido's behavior in his familiars is pretty ridiculous, isn't it? Well, I think of Rido as a pretty ridiculous person most of the time, so his actions are often going to be cartoonishly exaggerated. That's just a part of his madness, I suppose!

 **Chapter 12:** Kaname is sort of scary, huh? Well, he's not the Ancestor, but even so he's put a lot more effort into developing his powers than Yuuki has. It might just be because he's the second child, and felt like he had something to prove. At any rate, he continues to provide a contrast with Yuuki's relationships. He's not supposed to be 'despicable' exactly, but I feel like he's going to come out that way anyway. He's more comfortable 'being a vampire', even though he's not quite like Rido.

The end of the scene with Shizuka might seem a bit alien to the character, but like many of the other characters here, her fate has been much gentler... so far, anyway. Her lover hasn't been named yet, but I assure you that it'll happen down the road. I don't like leaving characters like that nameless, as I demonstrated with our dear Association President, but for this particular chapter his anonymity actually is a relevant piece of the storytelling. At any rate, it felt nice for Shizuka to have a happy moment, even if it was a bit twisted. I suppose that 'bit twisted' is a part of what makes it still Shizuka, huh? Poor Torvald, though. He's not having a good time. I wonder what Rido will have to say about being rejected?

Ichiru and Zero are Ichiru and Zero. This scene was originally a more angry, but I decided the bitterness between these two really wasn't that intense, so I changed it.

I didn't realize how much I enjoyed Sayori's character until I started writing for her. She has a dry sort of wit to her, and her unwillingness to buckle in response to people who are 'just more powerful' than her appeals to me a lot. She's a person who really values her integrity.

Meanwhile, the work so far: It hardly feels as if I started this as short a time ago as I did. The beginning of the month feels like an eternity away, and it's very strange to imagine that I only have five (planned) chapters left. Don't worry though, because this was always going to be a multi-part series; the 'season finale' is coming, but the climax is a decently long ways off. My tentative title for the next work is **Hearth and Fang** , but we'll see if that sticks. To all of my readers, thank you for your encouragement and criticisms so far, it's been a big help.

 **Chapter 13:** This one came a little later than usual. Well, I can't be full steam ahead all the time, even when I'm still working pretty fast. Rido took that pretty calmly, huh? Well, he's oscillated from cartoonishly direct to the sort of subtlety that caused Shizuka's problems in canon. Still, that can't really last, can it?

It took me a while to write Yuuki and Zero's scene in this one, because I kept being unhappy with particulars and revisiting it. You have to have some romance in a romance story, don't you? Maybe it's been a bit heavy on that, but the particulars of their conflict here -- even though they work through them -- are pretty important for a vampire and hunter to feel their way through, I think.

Kaname and Lars continue to be an odd pair. I hadn't really explored Lars very thoroughly so far, and deliberately underplayed the fact that he is a sort of James Bond type. So even though Kaname is doing a very monstrous thing to him, he's not just 'some innocent guy with a family'.

Things are starting to escalate. It's looking like big trouble for guys like Torvald and Lars, isn't it? By the way, I haven't forgotten that there are antagonistic elements among the Hunter's Association. That'll come up again in the future, I promise.

 **Chapter 14:** I got interrupted a lot while writing this one. I wanted to zoom out again and have some characters that have been sidelined interacting with each other, but I think there were so many moving parts they mostly ended up indistinct. On the other hand, I'm happy to give Aido a little bit of screen time here. Aido's canonical arc is one of my favorites in Vampire Knight, and I do apologize for the dearth of him so far.

Rido is starting to escalate things pretty sharply, and not in a very rational way. Do you think robbing Torvald of his ability to correct for Rido's irrationality was a good thing? Torvald is certainly in a pickle no matter what.

Meanwhile, Shizuka's lover gets a name. I enjoyed writing their back-and-forth inordinately, and I hope that you like Tomio going forward. This is a very stark contrast with the creature that Hino Matsuri's Shizuka is, but like many members of the cast, her story is as of yet not quite as tragic as it once was. She's still a little bit twisted, of course, and that's part of what I enjoy about her.

 **Chapter 15:** As the title suggests, the real heart of this chapter is Yuuki and Zero's problems. There's a lot more to it, but after staring at it for a while I just stopped being able to imagine calling it anything but I Won't. I'll definitely be renaming some of the chapters after the finale, because a lot of this was stream-of-consciousness due to my timing commitment. Yuuki and Zero are having a disconnect on mortality here. That was inevitable and it probably isn't actually over, but the thing forcing the issue isn't going to hang around forever, and there's only so much anybody their age lingers on things like that. It's also just not natural for Purebloods to think of it much, outside the scope of 'sometimes getting too old and bored and wanting to be done'.

This is also the reason that you get to see Ichiru and Zero's parents, but not Yuuki's. Notwithstanding that Haruka and Juri are already well enough established and designed, Ichiru and Zero are sufficiently mortal that it naturally occurs to them to talk to people important to them before something dangerous happens. Yuuki, quite literally, has not previously conceived of this meaningfully-- and her own death is almost implausible.

I enjoyed writing Ylva and Shiro, though they're very improvised. If you're wondering, I generally imagine that hunters don't do... 'school', and instead are taught in master-apprentice / fostering relationships like Ichiru, Kaito, and Zero's relationship with Toga. This isn't really a condemnation of that idea space, but a broad desire for a less messed up way of living for future hunters is a part of why Shiro and Ylva are in on Kaien's scheming. I might eventually do some light prequel work surrounding how Kaien socialized Ylva, Shiro, Juri, and Haruka with each other, but if so, it'll be a ways off.

 **Chapter 16:** Sorry for the longer wait on this one. This time, it was the holidays that preoccupied me, so I didn't get writing started until a good two days after the last chapter was submitted. I've also rushed it ever-so-slightly, at least in terms of pre-submission review. If it shows, I hope it isn't intolerable.

'What if all the tragedies of the past never took place, and the trouble began in part because Yuuki was forced to bite Zero to save him?' was the basic premise of this entire alternate universe concept, and part 1 of this story was always leading up to it. I couldn't just say so up front, but there's been plenty of hints towards that in the past. I hope you enjoyed it, although there's still a bit more to be said and done before we move on to Hearth and Fang!

By the way, if you're thinking, 'Hey, what happened with Torvald and Elizabeth?', it's ok, I didn't forget them. It's just not going to be answered quite yet.

 **Chapter 17:** Yes, pitching somebody off a bridge into a cold lake is restraint for a Pureblood.

I thought it might be a good idea to include a bit of Ichiru and Maria on-screen here, but I decided to save it for Hearth and Fang. Introducing more of their relationship in a final chapter just didn't feel right. I want to be clear and say that, while there are some implications going on here, those two aren't dating. But they are pretty good friends, and Ichiru has genuinely come to trust Maria. Maria definitely wants to sip on that, though.

Writing Ylva and Shiro is fun. They're both sort of socially awkward, but of the two Ylva is the one who talks easier. Like the canonical Zero, she has some good things to say when something revs her heart up. By the way, Ylva and Kaien's kinship isn't biological, but they consider themselves siblings a lot more literally than Kaien and Juri do. As two 'vampires without fangs', their bodies are similar and they have similar social stigmas, so they became associates and good friends a long time ago.

Now: When might you expect Hearth and Fang? I want to get Hearth and Fang Chapter I out into the wild in the reasonably near future, but I also want to go back and do some clean-up on Snowy Mountains and Ocean Roses. My overall intention is that it should happen in the next couple of weeks, but as we all know, sometimes the bug hits you like a ton of bricks and you get weeks worth of writing done overnight. So we'll see how that plays out.

These chapters were written under a relatively tight self-imposed time limit with the intent of finishing a 17 chapter work within the month of November, and as such some of them were posted while I was tired and just trying to deliver them ASAP. The holidays made me lag more than I wanted, but I more-or-less accomplished what I set out to to my own satisfaction. I don't intend to modify the content significantly, but I'm sure I'll do some editing of grammatical errors or phrasing that I find questionable. One thing I especially want to do is rename (some of) the chapters, and I definitely have to update the lexicon. I'll also be stripping out the notes of many of these chapters and compiling them in the lexicon, because I don't like how my meandering breaks the story up even though I want to share my thoughts with you readers.

Going forward, I'll probably follow a similar process: Notes while a work is in-progress will be within the body of the fic, to be compiled in the Lexicon & Notes chapter at the end.


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